Pike Central Vocational Welding Students placed 1st and 3rd at the 2025 Indiana Skills USA Welding Championship Contest held at Local 440 Plumbers and Steamfitters Training Facility in Indianapolis on April 12.
Northeast Dubois senior, Gavin Wagner, placed 1st, winning the state championship in welding. Gavin received welding-related prizes, scholarships, and a gold medallion. Gavin will advance to the Skills National Welding Contest held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 23-27, 2025
Northeast Dubois senior, Owen Eichmiller, placed 3rd. Owen received welding-related prizes, scholarships, and a bronze medallion. The students competed against 25 state qualifiers throughout the state using the GTAW, GMAW, and SMAW welding processes on fillet and groove welds in various positions, utilizing weld symbols from blueprints. Also included in the competition were two online welding-related written tests.
Also competing but not placing in the top 3 were Forest Park senior, Wesley Contreras, Southridge
senior Cohen King, and Northeast Dubois senior Brandon Seitz.