HS students earn first & fifth place at Regional SkillsUSA competition, advance to States

three people wearing skillsUSA jackets standing together

BH-BL HS students among dozens of Capital Region BOCES Career and Tech Students to earn regional honors

Congratulations to BH-BL High School and BOCES Technical Education students Joe Pedersen and Matt Tyree for earning first and fifth place, respectively, at the regional SkillsUSA competition on Wednesday, March 20. (Matt pictured at left, Joe pictured at right.)

Pedersen and Tyree were among 40 other Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education students who showed their in-depth knowledge of the skilled trades and earned medals. In doing this, Pedersen and 10 other first-place winners as well as many of the other medal winners will advance to the state SkillsUSA competition in Syracuse next month.

The students, who hail from school districts as far-reaching as Cohoes and Cobleskill-Richmondville, showed expertise in their areas as diverse as carpentry and commercial baking and diesel engine repair and networking. They competed against their peers from Questar III and other BOCES during a day filled with events at Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) and Stratton Air National Guard Base.

The state SkillsUSA competition will be conducted April 24-26, 2019 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. Winners of that event will advance to the national competition in Kentucky in June.

“Congratulations to our competitors at the area SkillsUSA Competition. They all did a fantastic job and we are very proud of them,” said Valerie Kelsey, deputy director of Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education.

This year’s regional SkillsUSA medalists, their home school district and the competition they placed in are as follows:

First Place

  • Connor Mickel, Sharon Springs, Criminal Justice
  • Robert Dorrough, Schoharie, Precision Heavy Equipment Operator
  • Joseph Pedersen, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (BHBL), Auto Vehicle Maintenance
  • Madelyn Tanzman, Shenendehowa, Extemporaneous Speaking
  • Bryan Sidney, Voorheesville, Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R)
  • Madison Hurley, Schalmont, Job Interview
  • Tyler Blackman, Scotia-Glenville, Prepared Speech
  • Megan O’Toole, Voorheesville, Restaurant Service
  • Team of Thomas Cressimanno, Middleburgh, Jon Philipp, Cobleskill-Richmondville (CRCS) and Paiten Smith, CRCS, – Crime Scene Investigation

Second Place

  • Annette Domanski, CRCS, Commercial Baking
  • Matt Furlong, Voorheesville, Carpentry
  • Emily Elsis, Middleburgh, Precision Heavy Equip.
  • Alyssa Valentina, South Colonie, Cosmetology
  • Logan Berube, Mohonasen, Diesel Equipment Tech.
  • Angelo Carino, Guilderland, Food Prep.
  • Dahkeya King, CRCS, welding

Third Place

  • Sidney McClintock, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Auto Service Technology
  • Isidro Santiago, CRCS, Culinary Arts
  • Robert Witzke, South Colonie, Carpenters Assistant
  • Conor Metz, CRCS, Carpentry,
  • Tatiana Rivera-Truesell, Cohoes, Commercial Baking
  • Mark Molesky, Schoharie, HVAC
  • Dinesh Gobinlall, Schenectady, welding

Fourth Place

  • Patrick Hoop, Middleburgh, Auto Service Technology
  • John Dolezar, Schenectady, Action Skills
  • Tim DeCelle, Cohoes, Collision Repair Technology
  • Taylor Lang, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk (RCS), Culinary Arts
  • Team of Emily Pinson, Bethlehem, Kierra Balir-Leak, Cohoes, Raven Bryant, Schenectady, Promotional Bulletin Board

Fifth Place

  • Matthew Tyree Jr., BHBL, Automotive Service Technology
  • Greg Krosky, Scotia-Glenville, Collision Repair Technology
  • Zach Lawrence, Duanesburg, Criminal Justice
  • Shane Campbell, CRCS, Food Service Basic
  • Karee Hildreth, Schalmont, Restaurant Services
  • Christina Cummings, Shenendehowa, Cosmetology
  • Kevin Karlock, Niskayuna, Job Interview
  • Daniel Carota, Cohoes, Related Technical Math
  • Raymond Lee, South Colonie, Welding