(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Diesel Equipment Technology program hosted on Thursday the Texas FFA Association Tractor Technician Career Development Event, which featured 12 high schools from North and Central Texas.
In the Texas FFA Association’s Area 5, Sam Rayburn High School placed first, Wolfe City High School placed second and Campbell High School placed third.
Dru Nichols, a sophomore member of Sam Rayburn High School’s team, said the key to victory was lots of hands-on practice.
In the Texas FFA Association’s Area 8, Midway High School placed first, Crawford High School placed second and Teague High School placed third.
“It feels rewarding,” said Caleb Montgomery, a sophomore member of Midway High School’s team. “We have all been working on this since September.”
Students on the first-place teams in both areas received TSTC scholarships.
The top three teams from each area will compete in a state FFA tractor technician competition to be held in March at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Teams of three students took a written test and did a parts identification test. The students performed a troubleshooting exercise on John Deere and Kubota tractors donated for the competition by United Ag & Turf and Tipton International, both in Waco. Students drove the tractors once the teams found and repaired the problems.
TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program instructors and students served as contest judges and created the problems the high school students found in the tractors.
For more information on the Texas FFA Association, go to texasffa.org.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.
