RATHDRUM — Showers of orange sparks cascaded from workstations to the floor as student welders meticulously completed their projects Friday at the Parker Technical Education Center in Rathdrum.

As the young folks say, this competition was lit.

“I enjoy every aspect of it. I like catching fire, I like playing with fire," Timberlake High/Kootenai Technical Education Campus senior Cory Stacy said with a grin. "Grinders, hammers. It’s all fun."

Stacy and about 50 other students from KTEC, Lakeland and Sandpoint showcased their welding and fabrication abilities as they competed in the yearly regional SkillsUSA competition, hosted by North Idaho College.

The students were tasked with performing multiple industry techniques: oxy-fuel cutting, shielded metal arc welding and flux-cored arc welding. They were given the instructions upon arrival, just as they could expect at a job site if they decide to pursue careers in this field.

"They walk in, they’ve never seen the blueprints. They’re handed instructions and we say, 'Here you go,'" said NIC welding technology professor Tim Straw, who oversees the competition.

“We try to mimic in this competition and our program what they’d have to do in industry to get the job," he said. "This is a career, and a skill they learn and they can use forever. If they want to go into the welding field, the options are unlimited for what you can do."

Lakeland High junior Dawson Lee competed last year. He said he wasn't feeling as confident about his work this year, but he still enjoyed participating.

"I like the idea of competitions in welding,” he said. "I really enjoy the fabricating and welding field, and I think it’s cool we can compete."

Hunter Andres, another Lakeland junior, was also happy to come together with other welding students to show off their skills.

“I came here last year and I actually made it to state,” said Andres, who plans to be a civil engineer when he graduates. "You go to Boise and do kind of the same thing as here — cut, weld, a few different styles — then it’s graded just like it is here. At state it was kind of cool because we got to talk to the other competitors and see what their shop is like, see what they know, pick up tips and tricks."

The regional winners will advance to the 2020 SkillsUSA Idaho State Leadership and Skills Conference April 2 and 3 in Boise.

And the winners are:

Overall: Travis Doty, KTEC

First place, cutting: Seth Haddy, KTEC

First place, flux-cored arc welding: Clay Lawrie, Lakeland

First place, shielded metal arc welding: Hunter Andres