Evans High students try to win with mechanics' skills

Two Evans High School juniors earned spots in the statewide Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills finals in Perry, Ga., today.

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The two students -- Caleb Aiken, 16, and Zach Brooks, 17 -- qualified for the hands-on competition with their scores on an online examination. They are one of 10 pairs from 10 high schools in Georgia.

This is the fourth year that a team from Evans has qualified for the state finals and the second year in a row that two-year automotive transportation teacher Travis Weathers has sent competitors to the contest.

"Those are two of my better students," Weathers said of the team.

He said he hoped his instruction contributed to their success, but added, "I can't take all of the credit. I just hope they do really well."

Caleb and Zach said they were nervous but confident about the competition in which they will race to correctly diagnose and repair the problems in a deliberately "bugged" 2008 Ford Escape.

"We had a Ford master technician training us," Caleb said of Weathers. "I feel pretty good."

They had been practicing on a 2008 Escape provided by Fairway Ford for a week.

"We just have to keep practicing," Zach said before the competition.