When it comes down to competition, the technology students at Hampton High School don’t play around.

The students in the Hampton chapter of the Technology Student Association and SkillsUSA brought home six state championships as well as other honors after competing at two events recently.

Skills USA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce.

At the Tennessee SkillsUSA State Competition, the Hampton group captured four First Place honors as well as a Third Place ranking.

In the Additive Manufacturing competition, the team of Philip Arrington and Zach Oliver captured top prize with their 3D printed Matchbox Jeep. The victory this year made Arrington a back-to-back State Champion in the event. He won first prize in the same contest last year with partner Alex Marlow.

“It was a great feeling to win that competition two years in a row,” Arrington said.

For the competition this year, Arrington and Oliver had to design and 3D print a matchbox car. The pair decided on creating a Jeep, and by designing the vehicle with the top off, they were able to include more details, such as a finished interior and custom mag wheels.

“We started making all the details after we got it assembled to make sure it would fit for the competition,” Oliver said.

Harley Hill captured top honors in the Dental Assisting competition, a subject that was new to Hill until recently.

“I never had any experience in the dental field or health field,” Hill said.

To prepare for the contest, Hill had to complete a lot of research in order to learn the anatomy of the tooth, the instruments used to clean teeth and to give a demonstration on proper brushing and flossing technique. One of the individuals helping her prepare was the mother of one of her teammates, Jamie Oliver, who formerly worked as a dental assistant.

“I actually really enjoyed that, and I think I might look into going into it for college,” Hill said.

Twin brothers Ian Kelly and Ryan Kelly both placed in drafting competitions — Ian Kelly captured First Place in the Architectural Drafting event while Ryan Kelly brought home Third Place in the Technical Drafting competition.

For Ian Kelly’s event, he was tasked with designing a home for a newly-wed couple with specifications on square-footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and many other details of the home.

Ryan Kelly was given an object, and he then had to create a computer aided design blueprint for the item.

The Quiz Bowl Team — comprised of members Dakota Pierce, Austin Boling, D.J. Oliver, Allison Arrington, and Darryl Hitechew — captured First Place at the competition.

“This is our first time doing this at Skills,” Allison Arrington said.

For the Quiz Bowl, moderators ask the teams questions on current events that have made the news in the past 90 days, SkillsUSA and its programs, and questions from the category “General Knowledge” which covers the basic school subjects such as math and science.

At the TSA competition, Pierce, Hitechew, and Allison Arrington also competed in the Technology Quiz Bowl at that event and brought home third place. The questions at the TSA Tech Bowl the students fielded questions regarding technology, the history of technology, and the TSA organization.

“We competed in this last year and got second lace in state and were in the top 16 at nationals,” Allison Arrington said.

While the two Quiz Bowls were similar in nature, they also had some clear differences.

“In TSA Quiz Bowl it’s head-to-head,” Allison Arrington said. “At Skills, all five teams are up there at once. It’s whoever buzzes in the fastest and gets the answer right.”

At the TSA state competition, Philip Arrington captured Third Place in the Flight Endurance competition. For the event, Philip Arrington had to design and craft an airplane out of balsa wood meeting a very specific set of specifications — such as wing length and the overall weight of the plane — and get it airborne.

“They pretty much said ‘Get it to fly as long as you can,’” Philip Arrington said.

This was the first time Hampton had competed in the event, and Philip Arrington said he thought Third Place was a strong first showing.

Ian Kelly and Ryan Kelly both captured First Place honors in CAD events at the TSA state competition.

Ian Kelly brought home top prize for CAD 2D Architecture for the second year in a row, making him a back-to-back champion.

“I was asked to draw a small house called a ‘Granny Pod,’” Ian Kelly said. “It had to be designed for a disabled person.”

His brother Ryan Kelly brought home First Place for CAD 3D Engineering with his design for a weather proof computer case in an event similar to his competition at SkillsUSA.

“At TSA I get to draw it the way I want it to be,” Ryan Kelly said of the differences between the two events. “At SkillsUSA, they tell you exactly what to draw.”

All of the students winning First Place in an event at SkillsUSA and all of those who placed in the TSA State Competition are eligible to go on to compete at the national competition for those two organizations. While the school system does provide some funds for the students to participate in competitions, it is not enough to cover all the expenses, so the students are seeking support from the community to allow them to go to the national competitions.

For more information on how you can help support the students as they strive to make it to nationals, please contact CAD teacher Daniel Arnett at Hampton High School by calling 423-725-5200.