Two Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School students placed first and third among a select group of students from across the state in a competition that tested their heavy equipment repair skills.

Butler Area High School students Micah Shay, a junior, finished first and Niven Hay, a senior, finished third in the contest held at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport on Dec. 10 and 11.

They won tools, hats and T-shirts from sponsors, which included some of the country's largest manufacturers, but the contest was intended to expose the students to post-secondary training and education opportunities at the college, which is affiliated with Pennsylvania State University.

Based on written test scores, Micah and Niven were among 28 Pennsylvania students who qualified for the heavy equipment repair competition.

Micah took the top spot in the trailer preventative maintenance contest that was sponsored by FedEx and Niven finished third in the differential repair contest sponsored by Foley Caterpillar of New Jersey.

“It was like the Super Bowl of diesel skills,” Niven said.

The skill level of the other students and the setting of the contest made the competition daunting, at least in the early going.

“It was intimidating going against the best of the best in the state,” Micah said. “The shop is intimidating.”

The heavy equipment shop at the college is larger than the vo-tech building, and the college has many other shops, he said.

“It's a very big school,” Niven said.

Groups of three students had 20 minutes to diagnose malfunctions and perform repairs at each of the 10 different stations in the contest. Trailer preventative maintenance and differential repair were among the 10 stations. Each student had to work independently on separate vehicles or components at each station, and they were not allowed to help each other, ask questions or talk at all. Students were given 20-minute breaks between the stations.

A representative from the sponsors served as a judge at each station, where students were given a list of what wasn't working.

“They would remove something — a light, a pin, a clip. They wanted to know if something was missing,” Micah said.

The other stations challenged students to diagnose problems with air brakes, starting and charging, valve adjustments, circuit boards, precision measurements, data analysis, wheel hub assembly and steering and tires.

Micah said the problems they had to fix at each station were “real deal” problems that working mechanics would have to address on the job.

The trucks, trailers, engines and other components they worked on were provided by major manufacturers and dealers, including Freightliner, Volvo, Kenworth, Caterpillar, Isuzu and Cleveland Brothers.

Micah and Niven qualified for the competition by excelling on the 85-question test, said Bill Rearick, the heavy equipment repair instructor at the vo-tech.

“Everything involved in the industry was on the test,” Rearick said.

Prohibiting students from talking, even to their parents, who were allowed to walk through the stations at the competition, and timing the students at each station was done to keep the contest fair.

“It was kept on a level playing field. The only difference was the students' ability,” Rearick said.

He said this was the first competition the college held and the vo-tech will participate next year if the college offers it.

“It's a great idea,” Rearick said.

The event allows industry professionals to meet top students and vice versa.

“We had dinner with Isuzu truck manufacturing representatives, made good contacts,” Rearick said.

The heavy equipment industry sorely needs new mechanics and technicians.

“There's a huge void for truck and equipment repair,” Rearick said.

He said five vo-tech students who attended the college are leading successful careers in Butler and Allegheny counties.

Micah's future plans are to be a service technician, and he wants to work for FedEx in its service department, or another large company where he would have the opportunity to travel. His second option is to pursue opportunities as an equipment operator.

Niven wants to attend a trade school for additional training in heavy equipment and diesel repair.

He would then like to enter the workforce as a service technician, working on equipment and heavy duty diesel trucks.