Two career-and-technical-education teams from Elma High School recently returned from Louisville, Kentucky, where they competed in the national SkillsUSA Championships.

The Chapter Business Procedures team, composed of Morgan Thompson, Chloe Velasco, Grace Potts, Taylor Kershaw, Florencio Ramirez-Ramirez and Ezekiel Mueller, finished in first place.

“This competition tests the problem solving and teamwork skills that are necessary to succeed in a workplace setting,” Thompson said in a release. She will be attending the University of Idaho in the fall. “These competitions prepare students to enter the workforce as teachable and valuable employees.”

Tyler Renz is the SkillsUSA adviser at Elma High School. He and Christi Kershaw coached the team and accompanied them to Louisville. He said that to get to the championships, competitors had to take first place in state.

“Elma’s Chapter Business Procedures team worked tirelessly to prepare (for nationals) and it paid off …,” Renz said in a release. “This is the first National Champion team for Elma SkillsUSA.”

The Mobile Robotic Technology team of Cameron D’Onofrio and Seth Lafontaine “battled against technical difficulties and electrical interference to get a robot,” Renz said.

“More than 6,400 outstanding career and technical education students, all state contest winners competed hands-on in 103 different trade, technical and leadership fields,” Renz said about the competition.

The top three finishers receive medals.

“Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education,” Renz wrote. “The SkillsUSA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA.

“High scorers in the contests received Skill Point Certificates. The Skill Point Certificate was awarded in 72 occupational and leadership areas to students who achieved a high score defined by industry.”

Perla Mata, competing for Aberdeen High School, won a bronze medal for Medical Assisting.