Two Flathead High School seniors took third place recently at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skill state finals competition at the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology.

The Flathead team of Cameron Worth and Scott Bolt each received $11,000 scholarships to Universal Technical Institute, Napa and Snap-On tools and an OTC automotive scan tool.

They competed against nine other teams.

Industrial arts and automotive teacher Rob Hunter said the competition gives students a goal to strive for.

“The two students that make the state finals really have to become top-notch to be competitive,” Hunter said.

Worth and Bolt qualified for the state finals in February by having high scores in an online exam consisting of 50 technical automotive questions.

The Flathead team had two weeks to prepare for the state finals after the contest car was announced.

DePratu Ford and Valley Ford both provided cars for the students to study. The students spent hours locating parts and learning the cars’ computer systems.

During the hands-on part of the competition, each team had 90 minutes to correctly diagnose and repair 10 intentionally installed problems. Each team was judged on speed, accuracy and workmanship.

Hunter has traced Flathead’s participation in the automotive contest back to the 1960s when it was sponsored by Plymouth and called the Plymouth Troubleshooting Competition.

“The contest is valuable for the program and the students,” Hunter said. “The competition motivates students from the time they are freshmen and inspires them to do their best.”