Lovell High School Skills USA team tops 3A division in points

It came as no surprise to Lovell High School Skills USA team advisors Bret George and Jode Kraft when their team of 24 students was named high point chapter in the 3A division at the Skills USA State Leadership and Skills Conference held at Casper College last week. The students have a reputation of being very motivated and are often one of the most competitive teams to look out for at events.

“We never really know how they’re going to do, but we were pleasantly surprised that they did so well,” said Kraft.

The program is very popular at the high school and usually fields one of the larger teams at the event, said Kraft. The students compete against schools from across the state. Many are much larger than Lovell High School.

“They’re pretty impressive,” said Kraft.

Skills USA is a career and technical student organization. Since it’s an extra-curricular activity for the students, students work on their projects in their free time. All grade levels participate, choosing projects based on their career interests.

George described Skills USA as a “growing program with a lot of interest.” He said the students put in a tremendous amount of work during their flex time throughout the school year in preparation for competitions. Students brought home five gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze from the event this past week.

Points are calculated based on the type of medals earned by team members. This year’s team earned more points than any other team in the highly competitive 3A division.

Jarrett Allen and Hugh Carpenter took gold in additive manufacturing. Brooklin Clark took home gold in advertising design, and Addisyn Perkins took silver in the same category. Maecie Joy took bronze in architectural drafting. Whitney Hendershot took bronze in customer service. Celeste Lindsay took gold in early childhood education. Matthew Allen took silver for pin design.

The team of Avery Layne, Danika Crumrine, Maecie Joy, Damian Wagner, Jarrett Allen, Matthew Allen and Karson Mollett won gold in the quiz bowl event. Danika Crumrine earned gold and Lily Hiser earned silver in restaurant service. Janemarie McKay took gold, and Brittni Aagard took bronze in T-shirt design.

The students also participate in charitable activities like assembling care packages for the military and assembling Christmas gifts for the needy as part of the Christmas giving program coordinated by Janet Koritnik at North Big Horn Hospital. Kraft noted that many of the charitable projects are made possible through a generous donation to the team by Georgia-Pacific Corporation.

“I think the donation in itself helps the kids learn about generosity and how important it is to pass on success,” said Kraft.

George gave high praise to the students.

“The kids we get in this program are the cream of the crop,” said George. “They are well-behaved, they never give us problems, and they are very engaged in what they are doing. They have a willingness to work, and they work very hard. I wouldn’t trade this group for any other group.”