Imagine building a bathroom cabinet in one day.
Or being given a part, a set of calipers, a computer, and having eight hours to reverse engineer that part.
That's what Bayfield students in SkillsUSA will do next week at their state competition at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs.
BHS students won or placed in several categories in district competition in March in Durango, qualifying them for the state event.
This will be Braxton Newkirk's second year of state competition. He will compete in technical drafting, which he won at districts. At state, he'll have eight hours to reverse engineer that pesky part, and he's also competing in Quiz Bowl. In 2014, BHS won the state Quiz Bowl title and went to national competition in Kansas City, Mo., finishing in the top half of the 50 teams competing.
Joining Newkirk in this year's state Quiz Bowl team are Bri Marr, Taylor Winch, Jessie Roukema and Morgan Allred.
Marshall Carter, who took second in drafting in districts, will be the Quiz Bowl alternate and will join Newkirk in state drafting competition.
Winch also is competing in cabinetmaking, along with Allred. She is Bayfield's first female student competing in the state competition for cabinetmaking. In districts, Allred and Winch completed a small medicine cabinet in a day, with Winch taking second place and Allred placing third. Last year, the state cabinetmaking competitors had to construct a nightstand.
To get ready for state competition, the Quiz Bowl students are brushing up on their mathematics and history. They might do some practice tests with the BHS Knowledge Bowl team, which also is headed to state April 16-17 at Colorado College.
SkillsUSA state competition is April 8, 9 and 10. SkillsUSA is the largest student organization in the country, focusing on leadership and technical skills for high school students, said their advisor, Curtis Gillespie. He teaches woods and construction at BHS.
