Nothing makes you feel older and slower than watching Oxford High School auto students participate in their annual brake competition.

Their nimble fingers are a blur as parts fly around them and their tools practically make sparks as they strike the metal.

Auto Technology instructor Dan Balsley used one word to describe this year’s competition, held March 15, and that word was “fierce.”

“It was very competitive,” he said. “They were coming in early to practice. They were staying late. I had many students taking home brake units to practice on their own time, evenings and weekends.”

Thirty Auto Tech One students took part in this year’s competition, which pitted two-person teams against each other to see who could completely disassemble and reassemble rear drum brakes on two different vehicles in the least amount of time.

All the work had to be done as quickly and accurately as possible as the seconds ticked away on the stopwatch. Errors in craftsmanship could disqualify a team’s time.

The competition lasted about 80 minutes.

During that period, teams performed brake jobs as often as they wanted, on as many different vehicles as they wished, until they achieved times they were satisfied with.

Earning first place were Max Zeiger and Mitch Essenmacher with a combined time of 3 minutes and 1 second.

Coming in second were Natalie Beethem and Serenity Grant. They had a combined time of 4 minutes and 16 seconds.

Ryan Cobb and Nolan Skirke took third place with a combined time of 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

Fourth place went to Joey Wilkins and Trent Myre. They had a combined time of 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Prizes included tool sets, tool boxes, car jacks, hats and shirts.

A mere 2 seconds separated third and fourth place. That came as no surprise to Balsley.

“I kind of expected it because the competition was so fierce,” he said. “There were so many teams that were really giving it their best.”

Balsley started the competition years ago as a fun way to increase his students’ enthusiasm for doing brake work, which is typically a complicated, dirty job that involves many parts.

It’s been a fantastic motivator and confidence-builder as many of students go from hating brake work, or being intimidated by it, to being able to transform a scattered pile of shoes and springs into a functioning unit within a few minutes.

Sponsors for the brake competition included the Rotary Club of Oxford, Steve’s Oxford Automotive, Wright Tool Co. and Oxford McDonald’s.