Evans seniors earn spots in auto contest

Two Evans High School seniors are competing in the statewide Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills finals, which are being held in Perry today and Thursday.

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Adam Dahlmann and Alex James earned their spots in the competition with their scores in an online exam.

It marks the third year in a row that Evans students have qualified for the state finals. The past two Evans teams advanced to the national competition.

"I guess our instructors are pretty good at teaching us," said Dahlmann, a first-year automotive transportation class student.

Although he said he would like to win the statewide competition, James said he would be satisfied with a top three finish. The top three teams earn prizes and scholarship money.

Besting an arch rival could be even more gratifying.

"I'd probably like to beat Thomson because our instructor for the past three years went on to Thomson," said James, who has taken the automotive class for four years.

The Evans duo will be one of 10 two-student teams that will race to correctly diagnose and repair a deliberately "bugged" Ford Crown Victoria.

A combination of the exam and hands-on scores at the Perry competition will determine the championship team from each state. The 50 state teams will compete in a national contest in June.

Travis Weathers, the first-year automotive instructor at Evans, said he likes his team's chances.

"I think as high as they scored on the written test, we should have a good chance at the hands-on competition," he said.