Troup's Applied Agricultural Engineering team advances to State
Mar. 8—Troup High School's Applied Agricultural Engineering team, having placed third at the area qualifier, has advanced to the state level contest April 12 at Sam Houston State University. In addition, two members of the team placed in the top 10 as high-scoring individuals. Tucker Bozard earned first place high point individual and Logan Lockey placed eighth. Remaining team members are Christian Howell and Maddie Howell.
"Troup High School is extremely proud of our Troup FFA Applied Agricultural Engineering team that placed third at the area contest this year, which qualified the team for the state meet for the third year in a row," said THS Principal Landon Trent.
Perhaps the individual most proud of these students is Ag Science teacher and FFA Advisor Tyson Huckaby.
"I could not be more proud of these kids and their accomplishments," Huckaby said. "We have always had students who competed in several similar events over the last few years and as of 2022 the Texas FFA began to recognize this event as an official Career Development Event, with a state level contest."
This competition is divided into 12 Areas. Each Area hosts a qualifying contest, with the top three finishers advancing to the state competition. Troup, located in Area 6, competed against 14 other teams, placing third overall.
"Through this competition, our Applied Agricultural Engineering students learn aspects of welding, cutting, blueprint plan reading, applied mathematics and working as a team in high leverage situations," Trent said. "Mr. Huckaby does a fantastic job of teaching our students highly valuable skills that they can take to college or the work force after graduation."
The Applied Agricultural Engineering contest is divided into a skills demonstration and a written exam. During the skill test, students are expected to perform welding, cutting and layout demonstration.
"The skills are usually based on industry-style schematics, utilizing measurements, technical weld symbols and scales. Students are expected to produce a specific result based on interpreting the drawings," Huckaby stated. "These coupons they produce are then examined by industry professionals who score each submission according to how close it is to the desired outcome, as intended by the schematic."
The written exam consists of a range of topics which may include welding and cutting, calculations, safety, industry standards, governing agencies and others.
Huckaby said the contest has become more competitive and more teams have become involved.
"We have been blessed to have advanced to state the last two years with a very strong team. However, after losing some team members to graduation, and having to find three new replacements to fill their shoes, there was some question among the "naysayers" as to if we would make it a third time," he said. "These kids put an exceptional amount of work in the shop practicing their skills, as well as studying material for possible exam questions, and I believe this results speak for themselves."
