On Feb. 19, the A.C. Jones High School welding students won all three places in the Skills U.S.A. District 12 welding competition in Victoria. They now have won the district title for seven consecutive years.

Placing first for Beeville was Dustin McCabe along with Clayton Tindol placing second and sophomore James Scotten placing third. The fourth and fifth place welders recognized in the competition were Beeville’s Roberto Morales and Ryan Vasquez, respectively. Forty-three welding students from area high schools competed in this year’s competition at the Victoria College.

The welding test for this competition was a vertical up weld on beveled plate. The plate weld was required to have been welded completely from the front side of the plates only and the weld appearance on both sides of the finished weld was required to meet industry standards. Certified welding inspectors were on hand to inspect the welds these students produced, with strict inspection guidelines followed when judging each weld.

On March 26, A.C. Jones welding students and their instructor Mike Mylnar will travel to Corpus Christi to compete in the Skills U.S.A. state competition at the American Bank Center, with the welders testing at the Craft Training Center. On March 27, the awards and closing ceremonies will take place at the American Bank Center.