Mt. Pleasant duo finish sixth in national mechanics event

By Brooks Taylor, Mt. Pleasant News

Michael McKenzie and Jaymie Peterson weren?t in New York City earlier this month to see skyscrapers, although Peterson admitted that all the tall buildings ?were pretty cool.?

Rather, McKenzie and Peterson, seniors at Mt. Pleasant Community High School, finished sixth in the nation in the National Automotive Technology Competition, sponsored by the Greater New York City Auto Dealers Association.

McKenzie and Peterson received the berth in the April 18-19 national event by winning the Iowa competition last fall at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The pair?s trip to nationals was sponsored by the Iowa Automotive Dealers.

Mt. Pleasant was the only Iowa team among 30 teams from throughout the United States at the event.

Peterson said the challenges at the national meet ?were a little harder than I thought and also the type of knowledge you had to have.?

McKenzie said he had butterflies before beginning but those quickly dissipated. ?When I started the competition, I was nervous, but once we got going, it was a lot more similar to DMACC than I thought (it would be).?

?The first day wasn?t bad because it focused on our stations,? Peterson added. ?The second day was more nerve-wracking.?

Basically, the competition consisted of diagnosing problems impacting vehicles.

?The work stations were similar (to state competition),? McKenzie said. ?The on-car (troubleshooting) was much different. We had to solve customer complaints (regarding problems with the vehicle).?

Competition was confined to three hours each day. The first day, competitors were at their work stations and the second day was diagnostics on vehicles.

McKenzie said there was a lot of instantaneous learning. ?The computer programs and diagnostics were a lot different than I was used to. I had to learn on the spot.?

Peterson said he was grateful for the experience. ?Doing things on the spot will really help me in the future.?

In addition to experience, McKenzie and Peterson also returned with ?goodies? ? a Snap-on Tool bag and an eight-piece Snap-On screwdriver set. The pair also was offered scholarships by four colleges.

McKenzie and Peterson plan to attend DMACC (on a scholarship gained in state competition) and study diesel mechanics. McKenzie, however, is mulling going to Southeast Community College for a year to take up welding before attending DMACC.

Jerry Crouch, automobile mechanics instructor at Mt. Pleasant High School, accompanied McKenzie and Peterson to New York City.

This is the first time a Mt. Pleasant team has qualified for nationals.