News

May 1, 2019

Area High School Students Earn State Championships in Work-Related Skills

Brian Sidney

Two area high school students won state championships recently, proving they are the best young students in the state in their chosen career paths.

Eight other Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School students won medals in the New York State SkillsUSA competition in Syracuse on April 25 and 26, proving they have the skills to be among the best in the state.

Bryan Sidney and Megan O’Toole, both of whom are seniors at Capital Region BOCES from the Voorheesville schools, took top honors among the hundreds of competitors who tested their technical skills at the Thursday, April 25 competition at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

Megan O’Toole

Sidney competed in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) competition while O’Toole competed in the Restaurant Service competition.

By winning, the pair earned the right to compete in the national SkillsUSA competition June 24 through 28 in Louisville, Kentucky. The event will draw more than 6,000 student competitors and thousands of industry experts from across the country.

“I’m excited to meet people but nervous also,” said O’Toole.

“I am looking forward to seeing how I will do against the rest of the country,” added O’Toole, who won the local, regional and state competitions to get to the national level.

Sidney has a similar outlook on nationals.

“I am excited to meet new people and to see what I have to do. I am a little nervous, but it will be fun,” he said.

The other Capital Region BOCES state medalists hail from the Schalmont, Scotia-Glenville, Guilderland, Schoharie, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Shenendehowa school districts and competed in events ranging from auto refinishing to welding and even job interviewing.

The medalists, their home school districts and competitions are as follows:

Second Place

  • Madison Hurley, Schalmont, Job Interview
  • Greg Krosky, Scotia-Glenville, Auto Refinishing
  • Angelo Carino, Guilderland, Food Prep Assistant

Third Place

  • Karee Hildreth, Schalmont, Restaurant Services
  • Louis Hardendorf, Schoharie, CNC Milling
  • Connor Fancher, Cobleskill, Welding Sculpture
  • Team of Cole Maughan of Cobleskill and Tim Jagneaux of Shenendehowa, Interactive Application and Video Game Creation
  • Mark Molesky, Schoharie, Hydronic Heating
  • Joe Pedersen, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Auto Vehicle Maintenance Basic