9 Slinger students and 3 HUHS students place in SkillsUSA regional competition | By Dave Amoroso

 Madison, WI—SkillsUSA Wisconsin, a partnership of students, teachers, and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce, announced the results of its final regional competition held on Thursday, February 26, and Friday, February 27, at the University of Wisconsin in Menomonie, WI.

3-D Printing & Design

First Place: Kaden Kiepert, Waterford Union High School

Second Place: Frank Becker, Marshfield Senior High School

Third Place: Payten Apland, Dodgeland High School

Additive Manufacturing

First Place: Grennan Gubrud and Brett Schaefer, Chippewa Falls Senior High School

Second Place: Axyle Kramas and Ezekiel Pavlac, Lincoln High School – Alma Center

Third Place: Vincent Vang and Landon Wagner, Eau Claire North High School

Advertising Design

First Place: Christine Bertsch, Unity School District

Second Place: Adeline Hansen, Slinger High School

Third Place: Jordyn Tronnier, Slinger High School

Automotive Service Technology

First Place: Mason Botcher, Lincoln High School – Wisconsin Rapids

Second Place: Aaron Leckel, Spooner High School

Third Place: Olin Provost, Memorial High School – Eau Claire

Cabinetmaking

First Place: Ian Afdahl, Durand High School

Second Place: Jackson Chapman, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School

Third Place: Liam Kriehn, Chippewa Falls Senior High School

Carpentry

First Place: Gavin Richter and Sam Wallace, Rice Lake Senior High School; and Noah Smith, Spooner High School

Second Place: Max Dillon, Slinger High School; and Gunnar Goettl, Dylan Klisiewicz, and Caleb Westrom, Stanley Boyd High School

Third Place: Allannah Allard, Altoona High School; Kaeden Ludwig, Mosinee High School; Cayson Smith, Lincoln High School – Wisconsin Rapids; and Maliya Tosi, Rhinelander High School

CO2 Dragster (High School) 

First Place: Jayden Obermueller, Elmwood High School

Second Place: Wyatt Mantel, Oshkosh West High School

Third Place: Tubbs Shamarion, Barack Obama School of Career & Tech Ed (BOSCTE)

CO2 Dragster (Middle School) 

First Place: Mason Robotti, Spooner Middle School

Second Place: Aryn Jaeger, Spooner Middle School

Third Place: Sawyer Sather, Spooner Middle School

Electronics Technology

First Place: Braydan Van Vreede, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School

Second Place: Chris Hoover, Wausau East High School

Third Place: Isaac Johnson, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School

Entrepreneurship

First Place: Morgan Hunter and Payton Warwas, Webster High School

Second Place: Lilly Schmitt and Nathaniel Weber, Hartford Union High School

Third Place: Allie Cerveny and Emily Jensen, Gresham School

Extemporaneous Speaking (High School)

First Place: Christine Bertsch, Unity School District

Second Place: Sumali Liamkeo, D.C. Everest High School

Extemporaneous Speaking (Middle School)

First Place: Jordan Whitehead, Barack Obama School of Career & Tech Ed (BOSCTE)

Facilithon

First Place: Shalia Randall, Howards Grove High School

Second Place: Mollee Morgenstern, Unity School District

Third Place: Caden Comparan, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School

Job Interview (High School)

First Place: Emily Steiner, Oshkosh North High School

Second Place: Sadie Huss, Ashwaubenon High School

Third Place: Dakota Duberstein, Mosinee High School

Job Interview (Middle School)

First Place: Annabeth Roe, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Second Place: Ben Neilson, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Job Skill Demonstration Open (High School)

First Place: Derion Knox, Barack Obama School of Career & Tech Ed (BOSCTE)

Second Place: Adrianna Scalzo, Spooner High School

Third Place: Lillian Wilson, Unity School District

Job Skill Demonstration Open (Middle School)

First Place: Anastasia Skoug, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Second Place: Jaelyn Sedarski, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Mechatronics

First Place: Isaac Bougie and Mendoza Maddison, Fall Creek High School

Medical Math 

First Place: Olivia Ghorai, Hartford Union High School

Second Place: Kerrigan Kimball, Oshkosh West High School

Medical Terminology

First Place: Samantha Parrish, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Second Place: Alissa Cameron, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Third Place: Jordyn Mass, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Photography

First Place: Trevor Scroggins, Slinger High School

Second Place: Alicia Wheeler, Slinger High School

Third Place: Dagmar Beckel, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Power Equipment Technology 

First Place: Logan Pagliaro, Holmen High School

Second Place: Levi Grant, Menomonie High School

Third Place: Elliott Schmunk, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Precision Machining Technology

First Place: Emma Schumacher, Wausau West High School

Second Place: Nathaniel Johnson, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Third Place: Ethan Flannery, Marshfield Senior High School

Prepared Speech

First Place: Benjiman Romatowski, Lincoln High School – Wisconsin Rapids

Second Place: LillyAnne Bowers, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Promotional Billboard

First Place: Rylee Richter and Ivy Schlapper, Spooner Middle School

Promotional Bulletin Board

First Place: Madonna Timmons, Amya Thompson, and J’Dioni Vasquez, Barack Obama School of Career & Tech Ed (BOSCTE)

Second Place: Kelsy Burdick-McTaggart, Shaylee Laport, and Jada Mabry, Spooner High School

Related Technical Math

First Place: Colin Lovrine, Slinger High School

Second Place: Luke Baker, Ladysmith High School

Third Place: Sandra Malinowski, Slinger High School

Robotics: Urban Search and Rescue

First Place: Julian Storms and Cameron Volovsek, Marshfield Senior High School

Second Place: Camille Engel and Eva Schubert, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School

Third Place: Maria Jouppi and Lundin Karnes, Chippewa Falls Senior High School

Team Engineering Challenge (High School)

First Place: Howards Grove High School

Second Place: Oshkosh North High School

Third Place: Slinger High School

Team Engineering Challenge (Middle School)

First Place: Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Second Place: Barack Obama School of Career & Tech Ed (BOSCTE)

Third Place: Spooner Middle School

Technical Drafting

First Place: Logan Klein, Waterford Union High School

Second Place: Zach Lobert, Hartford Union High School

Third Place: Drew Parker, Waterford Union High School

Welding

First Place: Caden Kloos, Wausau West High School

Second Place: Devon Holut, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Third Place: Jordyn Maas, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Welding Fabrication

First Place: Tyler Douglas, Landon Hendrington, and Charles Lambert, Chippewa Falls Senior High School

Second Place: Brody Bechel, Kobin Bechel, and Sam Bergeson, Durand High School

Third Place: Bryce Arnold, Gunner Berndt, and Jay Stetzer, Lincoln High School – Alma Center

Welding Sculpture

First Place: Tyler Bol, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School

Second Place: Ashlynn Buettner, Slinger High School

Third Place: Nolan Raflik, Mosinee High School

Those who placed at the regional event have the opportunity to advance to the 53^rd annual Wisconsin SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference (SLSC) in Madison, Tuesday, April 7 – Wednesday, April 8. 

The Wisconsin SLSC, the largest hands-on workforce development event in the state, is the premier showcase of Wisconsin’s most highly skilled career and technical education students.

State competitions will occur at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, and Madison Area Technical College (MATC), 1701 Wright St. Other competitors in a category can participate in the SLSC until the maximum number of competitors in the category is reached.

Winners in all National-Qualifying Events will be invited to represent Wisconsin at the National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, GA, June 1–5, 2026.

Nationally, there are 114 head-to-head skilled and leadership competitions, and the 2026 Wisconsin SkillsUSA SLSC will offer more than 60 different competitions across middle school, high school, and post-secondary divisions, with more than 1,750 students participating. This is the largest showcase of career and technical education in the State, with business and industry representation from over 100 companies and over 300 volunteers, technical chairs, and judges.

Founded in 1973, Wisconsin SkillsUSA added 14 new chapters in the 2025 school year, bringing the total to 166 high school and middle school Wisconsin secondary chapters. A partnership of students, teachers, and industry representatives working together to ensure America has the skilled workforce needed to stay competitive, the SkillsUSA diverse talent pipeline covers more than 110 trades, technical, and skilled service occupations, mostly related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Dozens of corporations, trade associations, businesses, and labor unions support SkillsUSA Wisconsin to assure its mission success. Programs are integrated into career and technical education through a framework of personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and other workplace credentials.

Helping each student excel and as a solution to shrinking the skills gap, SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations.

SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce by developing framework skills, including personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. The SkillsUSA mission is built upon — and its success depends on — the commitment of members and partners to the following values: integrity, respect, responsibility, citizenship, and service.