Five Beeville Trojan welders competed at the Skills USA District 12 welding contest in Laredo on Friday, Feb. 8. Victoria Elizalde won first place at the meet, and Eric Dehnert came in third. Other Trojan welders participating were John Lopez, Andres Gaitan and Bryan Webb.

Beeville competed against schools from Victoria, Corpus Christi, Laredo and Eagle Pass. These welding students were required to produce a variety of plate welds, employing several different welding rods and welding procedures as prescribed by the event coordinator.

Elizalde, the only female competitor at the event, will now compete at the Skills USA state welding contest to be held this April in Corpus Christi.

Beeville has now advanced to the state competition for 11 years in a row, primarily due to excellent student participation in the program, and the skills, leadership and dedication of their late instructor, Mike Mylnar.