Seymour High School FFA members competing in the Indiana FFA state welding contest were, from left, Brayden Rorick, Ethan Alberring, Dylan Peters and Mitchell Mellencamp.
Submitted photo
Out of 50 participants in the beginner division of the Indiana FFA state welding contest, Seymour sophomore Mitchell Mellencamp placed second.
Out of 23 beginner duos, Mellencamp and classmate Ethan Alberring placed fourth.
For their solid showing, they will be recognized onstage and receive an award at the Indiana FFA State Convention, set for June 19 to 22 at Purdue University in West Lafayette.
“I don’t think that’s too bad,” Mellencamp said of the team results. “I wish that could’ve been higher, but it’s all right because I did my best and did all I could.”
This was the first time for Seymour High School FFA members to participate in the welding contest. To qualify for state, they had to place in the District XI contest in Bedford.
There, Mellencamp and Alberring won the beginner division, junior Brayden Rorick and senior Dylan Peters won the advanced division and Rorick and Alberring placed second individually in their respective divisions.
The four also competed individually and as duos at state, which was Jan. 28 at J. Everett Light Career Center in Indianapolis.
For the beginner level, they had to do three stick welds, or shielded metal arc welds. For the advanced level, they had to do two stick welds and three metal inert gas welds. Both levels also had to complete a 50-question written test and were scored on safety. Then a final score was determined.
Mellencamp scored 42 out of 50 on the exam, a perfect 25 for safety and 37 out of 40 on each of the three welds for a final score of 178. The winner, Landon Dunn of South Knox, scored 194, one off of a perfect 195.
“I felt like the setting and the machines that we used were nice, and the guys running it were able to answer any questions we had,” Mellencamp said.
Alberring placed 25th with a score of 154, and combined with Mellencamp, they scored 332 for fourth place in the team results. Liberty won with 355, followed by South Knox with 353 and DeKalb with 335.
“It’s kind of crazy, honestly,” Mellencamp said in summing up the experience. “I wasn’t really expecting anything special when I signed up for it. It was a great experience, and I’m definitely glad I did it.”
In the advanced division, a perfect score was 275, and Hayden Slater of Northview placed first with 268.
Peters scored 241 to place 25th, and Rorick scored 224 for 36th place. There were 51 competitors in this division.
As a team, their 465 put them in 14th place out of 23.
Seymour FFA Adviser Micah Dillman attended the state contest, but she wasn’t allowed in the welding or test area.
“We are very proud of them and are glad they were able to represent Seymour FFA,” she said.
The four boys also are part of the welding program at SHS that’s taught by Ben Fox at the Seymour Ag-Science and Research Farm in the Freeman Field Industrial Park. This is the third year for the welding program at the school.
Jackson County also was represented at the state contest by three Brownstown Central High School FFA members.
In the beginner division, freshman Wade Mathena scored 163 and placed 12th, and freshman Wyatt Imlay scored 154 and placed 26th. Together, they scored 317 for seventh place in the team standings.
In the advanced division, junior Cody Burnside competed individually, and he scored 233 and placed 31st.