The total came to 14 medals from one school, including four gold medallists who have earned the right to advance to a national final in Vancouver in early June.
That's what the technical and vocational students from the Estevan Comprehensive School accomplished on the weekend in Saskatoon during the provincial Skills Canada competition.
A total of 28 ECS students who have excelled in 15 different technical and vocational classes at the Comp were engaged in the intensive competitions with half of them emerging with some hardware to prove the ECS career-building programs are moving forward in successful fashion.
The students who will now undergo more intensive training in preparation for Vancouver will be Riley Wallewein, who captured the gold medal in architectural technology and design, finishing just ahead of his teammate, Shilynne Ward who grabbed the silver; Emily Vollmin, who took first in mechanical CADD; Michaela Pho in esthetics, just ahead of Chrissy Wanner and Rebecca Blackburn in hairstyling, a few marks in front of Kiana Stepp who claimed the silver.
The other medallists included Tanner Littlejohn, bronze in autobody repair; Hunter Hildebrand, silver in high school hairstyling, junior division; Regan MacMurchy, bronze in mechanical CADD; Dana Wilbraham, silver in photography, Mike Fisher, bronze in outdoor power and recreation equipment and Curtis McGillivray and Tate Wrubleski who teamed up for a bronze in television video production.
Tiana Whitman, who excelled in the hairstyling competition last year, capturing the gold, was declared ineligible to compete in the same category this year, so she simply fuelled her competitive spirits and entered the competition in the category of electrical installations and scooped up a silver medal in the process.
"How's that for versatility and multi-tasking?" said hairstyling and esthetics teacher Joyce Mack who groomed Tiana for last year's competition that took her to medal status at the national level.
"We're thrilled with the results this year and the school is proud of the success these students have brought to themselves and our community," said TV production educator Brian Wright. "Whether they're medallists or not, they all represented us with class. They were great representatives for the school and our city in Saskatoon."
The competition at the provincial level is a one-day event. There were 370 competitors in the secondary and post-secondary competitions. In Vancouver, it's a two-day event with a high complexity level and shortened time allocations which increases the intensity level all around.
"We'll just work a little more with them, get them ready for the next level," said Mack. "At the nationals, it'll be a very heavy two day test. There is no time off, so they'll have to be ready."
The two veteran instructors said they are very pleased to see the ECS technical and vocational curriculums expanding and the positive influence they have within the school continue to grow. They said new staff members are definitely buying into the programs and that has enabled the students to enter into an ever-expanding selection of Skills Canada categories.
There will be a few thousand competitors in Vancouver, but the four ECS students don't intend to be fish out of water at all.
"They are motivated kids, their teachers are motivated too. They're seeing how it works here and they are teaching to that level," said Wright.
The ECS educators who were involved in this year's Skills Canada program along with Mack and Wright were Tara Johns, Robert Toews, Troy Ruzicka, Ardelle Pearson, Charles Lang, Curtis Hack and Mark Kroeker.
"We were able to take most of our own equipment to the provincial competition, but in Vancouver we'll have to work with what is provided. We really appreciate the fact the South East Cornerstone Public School Board gives us this support by allowing us to upgrade equipment when necessary and with transportation support when we need it," Wright said.
The two day competition in Vancouver will begin with introductions and competition rules June 5 and will wrap up by June 8 with final assessments and medal presentations.
