Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
(Back, l-r) Ethan Dickinson, Nathan Harper, Draven Willard, Tyshon Swalstad, Jaren Fabela, Brian Aagard (front, l-r) Echo Allen and Hannah Appleby pose after the awards ceremony for Skills USA in Casper on April 26. Willard recieved a $2,000 scholarship as his prize for third place in advanced welding and Swalstad earned $3,000 for 2nd place in the same category. Fabela earned the Quality Chapter Award for his performance in the intermediate welding category.
The 2023 SkillsUSA Wyoming Championship took place from April 24-April 26 in Casper, hosting 891 competitors at the high school and state level from across the state to compete in a competition of vocational prowess.
The Worland team, represented by Ethan Dickinson, Nathan Harper, Draven Willard, Tyshon Swalstad, Jaren Fabela, Echo Allen and Hannah Appleby, competed in advanced, intermediate and sculpture welding categories.
Coached by first-year coach Brian Aagard, the Worland team managed to put two students on the podium at the Ford Event Center in the advanced welding category. Draven Willard, a senior, took third place and Tyshon Swalstad, a junior, took second.
Aagard said that the competition was spread out over three days and four venues – Casper College, Pathways Innovation Center, Kelly Walsh High School and Natrona County High School – to accommodate all of the competitors who came to Casper for the event.
For his first year coaching students at the competition, he was happy with how it went. Aagard said, "I am incredibly proud of the hard work that they put in. With this being my first year doing it, there are a lot of things that I missed the boat on when it came to preparing them for the competition. But we learned a lot from this, and I think that is the most important part of it, that we actually know going forward how to better prepare. I think the students as well went in not knowing what to expect, and that they will be ready for next time."
Willard, a senior, placed third while attending his first ever SkillsUSA competition. He said, "It was definitely interesting. I got to learn a lot and experience new things. It was a great experience to improve my skills and learn more about welding."
Swalstad, a junior, had competed in SkillsUSA last year but this was his first year placing. He said, "I think last year helped me a lot in preparing for this experience. Aagard taught me a lot and he really got me prepped for this year."
Fabela, also a junior, competed in his first SkillsUSA competition in the intermediate welding category. He stated that "It was a completely different experience. It was a little bit of a struggle to try walking instead of relying on my scooter." Fabela was dealing with a leg injury during the competition, and because he was used to moving around with a knee scooter he faced an extra layer of difficulty during the competition. He continued, "At first I was a little overwhelmed with all the competitors there. It was pretty interesting to see so many people come to a competition like this."
Both juniors say that they intend to return to the SkillsUSA Wyoming Championship once again as seniors.
Aagard felt that having the coaching experience from this year will enable him to better prepare his students for the future competition. Aagard said "Next year, I feel very confident that we are going to do really well. The things that we were missing are easily fixable. Their skills are where they need to be, they just lacked some procedural knowledge, and we know what we have to do to get to that next level."
