It’s happened almost every April for 25 years and this year is no exception.
Once again, Oxford High School will be sending two talented auto students to the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition to be held Wednesday, April 13 at the Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren.
Seniors Conner Booth and Nick Welch were among the top 10 two-person teams from across Michigan who scored highest on the competition’s written qualifying exam taken on-line back in February.
‘It’s everything to me,? Booth said. ‘I studied hard for months and I made it. It’s a great learning opportunity.?
‘I never thought I was going to make it,? Welch said. ‘I’m glad I’ll have an opportunity to represent Oxford High School and to get scholarship money.?
‘I had my eye on Conner, but Nick came out of nowhere,? said OHS Auto Instructor Dan Balsley. ‘I was surprised and real pleased.?
Booth and Welch will compete against teams from nine other schools at the state finals in a hands-on competition that will require each team to diagnose and repair identical electrical and mechanical defects (i.e. bugs) purposely placed in a 2012 Ford Mustang.
Repairs must be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time.
The team with the fewest demerits for workmanship and the best combined score for repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.
Unfortunately, the deck is stacked against Oxford in this year’s competition given, unlike previous years, they never received a manual for the vehicle they’ll be working on and they can’t get a hold of a car to practice on because the 2012 Mustang isn’t available at dealerships yet.
Add to that, Booth and Welch won’t have much time to practice. They weren’t informed they had qualified for the competition until a couple days before spring break, which means no school (or auto class) April 4-8.
But Balsley isn’t letting any of this stop him from giving his students as much help as he can.
‘I’m going to try to meet with the kids through spring break,? he said. ‘It kind of changes all of our spring break plans.?
After graduating OHS, Booth plans to attend Baker College to get his associate’s degree as an automotive technician and a bachelor’s degree in automotive business/management.
Welch was originally planning to study psychology at Oakland Community College and Wayne State University, but now he’s rethinking things and looking into career options in the automotive field. him from giving his students as much help as he can.
‘I’m going to try to meet with the kids through the spring break,? he said. ‘It kind of changes all of our spring break plans.?
After graduating OHS, Booth plans to attend Baker College to get his associate’s degree as an automotive technician and a bachelor’s degree in automotive business/management.
Welch was originally planning to study psychology at Oakland Community College and Wayne State University, but now he’s rethinking things and looking into career options in the automotive field.

Once again, Oxford High School’s Auto Technology program has produced two stellar students to represent the community at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition.
‘This is where they shine,? said instructor Dan Balsley.
Seniors Scott VanWagner and John Taylor were among the top 10 two-person teams from across Michigan who scored the highest on the competition’s written qualifying exam taken on-line back in February.
‘They’re both good students that have been dedicated to the program for four years,? Balsley said. ‘Qualifying for the competition was just such a good shot-in-the-arm for both of them because it gave them some recognition for the years of work they’ve put in with the program.?
VanWagner and Taylor will compete against nine other schools in the hands-on state finals to be held April 22 at the Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren.
‘It’s going to be fun,? VanWagner said. ‘It’s going to be a learning experience, for sure.?
During the competition, each team will be given a 2009 Ford Focus with identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair. Repairs must be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time.
The team with the fewest quality-of-workmanship demerits and the best combined total score for repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.
VanWagner said their strategy is simple ? ‘Go in strong, take our time and find every bug. Get it done right.?
In the end, Taylor said having a ‘clean car? is what matters most in this competition.
Balsley feels pretty good about his team’s chances.
‘They work well together,? he said. ‘They communicate with each other. They bounce ideas off of each other. They make a good team. So, I think we have a chance.
To practice for the competition, Balsley’s been creating malfunctions in a 2009 Ford Focus on loan to the Auto Tech program from Skalnek Ford in Orion.
‘He’s stumping us,? VanWagner noted.
During his 23 years of teaching, Balsley’s sent 20 teams to the state finals and three to the national finals.
But in all his years, he’s never had a team as eager and driven as VanWagner and Taylor.
‘They’ve been asking to look at the service manual (for the Ford Focus) on their own time and outline it,? he said. ‘I’m impressed with their initiative. These guys are hungry. All I have to do is keep up with them.?