Show of skill
Feb. 28—MOSES LAKE — It seems like everybody is talking about students going to state. Wrestling, basketball, swimming — all the state tournaments have been a topic of discussion. But not every state competition involves coaches and locker rooms.
The Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, or CBTECH, will send 25 students to Washington state's SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference March 27-29, the largest contingent the school has ever sent. The SkillsUSA allows students to compete in 92 different skill areas, anything from cabinetmaking to nail care to T-shirt design.
"It covers everything," said CBTECH Culinary Instructor Nathan Bathurst. "My class does baking and culinary arts. The welding class has two or three different welding competitions. The criminal justice (class) has a criminal justice competition. Then there's things like speech and job interviewing and leadership, a lot of soft skills-type competitions ... If you could think of a competition, they probably have it."
CBTECH will also send students from the automotive and firefighting programs, Bathurst said. Most of the competitions will be held at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, south of Tacoma, except for firefighting, which will be at Central Pierce Fire Station 60 in Spanaway.
"(For firefighting) it's how fast can they get dressed, and did they roll the hose correctly? In an emergency situation, the hose unrolls really fast (and) they need to be able to prove that they have that skill. There's a lot of knot tying and safety harness stuff, hard skills that firefighters need."
Last year, a CBTECH fire science student took first place in first aid CPR and went on to the national competition, said CBTECH Director Christine Armstrong.
The students' journey to this point began with smaller competitions at CBTECH, Bathurst said. The winners of those went to the regional competitions at various points around Central Washington: automotive students to Newport, criminal justice in Walla Walla and firefighting and culinary at CBTECH.
The state competition is a big event, Armstrong said, 4,000-5,000 people counting students, teachers and parents. Students will take the bus to Seattle Thursday and stay at the Hilton Doubletree Seattle Airport. That evening, according to the Skills USA Washington website, they'll hear a presentation by Shea Booster, a leadership consultant and former Future Farmers of America national vice president. Competitions will begin bright and early at 7:30 Friday morning and run until 5 p.m. Saturday awards will be given out and students will find out which of them will go to the national competition in Atlanta in June.
The winners at the state and national levels get more out of it than just bragging rights, Armstrong and Bathurst said.
"it looks great on a resume," Armstrong said. "It looks great on any application form if you went to state or you went to Nationals for SkillsUSA, because anybody who's in a (vocational) area knows what that means, and it's pretty special."
"At the state level, there's a lot of sponsorship from industries, and there's a lot of incentives for kids to be there and compete," Bathurst said. "We had a kid (who) won a $500 welder ... At the national level, there's bigger incentives. If you do really well, you can get thousands of dollars worth of prizes."
One of his students placed third last year and was offered a $1,000 scholarship to a culinary school, Barthurst added.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for students to see what competition on a state level looks like, and sometimes even a national level," Armstrong said.
CBTECH Competitors:
Baking
Monique Martinez
Jocelynne Bong
Criminal Justice
Anais Ayala
Culinary
Tobias Smith
Marcus Peterson
Lillyanne Kappel-Baker
Extemporaneous Speech
Ethan Ogle
Emmanuel Zepeda-Lopez
Firefighting
Zander Leasher
Mylee Dana
Dehlila Diaz
First Aid
Jerzey Nuetzhorn
Adan Moreno
Brooke Dana
Ceri Perkins
Kora Preston
Firefighting
Isai Gutierrez
Katelyn Fretwell
Metal Art
Mikayla Friedbauer
Karson Kowallis
Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair
Grason Padilla
David Couture
Roan Prentice
Tyler Jolley
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Chicago Cubs at Detroit Tigers odds, picks and predictions
Chicago Cubs at Detroit Tigers odds, picks and predictions The Chicago Cubs (40-24) and Detroit Tigers (42-24) wrap up their 3-game series Sunday. First pitch from Comerica Park in Detroit is set for 1:40 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Cubs vs. Tigers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets. Season series: Tied 1-1 After losing 3-1 in the series opener Friday, the Cubs rolled past the Tigers 6-1 Saturday, hitting 5 home runs and cashing as -111 road favorites. RF Seiya Suzuki led the charge with 2 HRs, while CF Pete Crow-Armstrong, 1B Michael Busch and 3B Matt Shaw each went yard. Chicago will go for its eighth straight series win on Sunday. The Tigers were limited to just 1 run on 6 hits by Cubs SP Jameson Taillon (7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5K) and 2 relievers, which helped the Under (8.5) cash for the second game in a row. The Tigers' lone run came on a fielder's choice by C Jake Rogers, cutting the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. The loss ended Detroit's 5-game home win streak. Cubs at Tigers projected starters RHP Cade Horton vs. RHP Jack Flaherty Horton (3-0, 3.51 ERA) is making his fifth start and sixth career appearance. He has a 1.21 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 6.7 K/9 in 25 2/3 innings. Last start: Win, 5 1/3 IP, 1 ER (3 R), 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K in 8-3 victory at Washington Nationals Tuesday 2025 road stats: 2-0, 3.07 ERA (14 2/3 IP, 5 ER), 1.30 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 in 3 games (2 starts) The 23-year-old rookie has never faced the Tigers Flaherty (4-6, 3.72 ERA) is making his 13th start. He has a 1.09 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 10.5 K/9 in 65 1/3 innings. Last start: Win, 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K in 13-1 victory at Chicago White Sox Monday 2025 home stats: 2-3, 3.03 ERA (32 2/3 IP, 11 ER), 0.95 WHIP, 12.4 K/9 in 6 starts Career vs. Cubs: 3-4, 3.67 ERA (68 2/3 IP, 28 ER), 1.22 WHIP, 10.5 K/9 in 17 games (15 starts); last faced them in 2023 Win your fantasy baseball league with For decades, BHQ has been helping players just like you win! BHQ offers full-season subscriptions. Sign up today and start winning! Cubs at Tigers odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 10:49 p.m. ET. Moneyline (ML) : Cubs +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Tigers -145 (bet $145 to win $100) : Cubs +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Tigers -145 (bet $145 to win $100) Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS) : Cubs +1.5 (-185) | Tigers -1.5 (+150) : Cubs +1.5 (-185) | Tigers -1.5 (+150) Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -115 | U: -105) Cubs at Tigers picks and predictions Prediction Cubs 4, Tigers 2 BET CUBS (+120). This weekend series featuring 2 division leaders has lived up to the hype. With how evenly matched these teams are, there's solid value in backing Chicago at +120 on the moneyline. The Cubs own the best road record in baseball at 20-13 and lead the league in road batting average (.274) and road home runs (62). Suzuki has been a force on the road, batting .309 with 12 of his 16 HRs coming away from home. Busch has also thrived on the road, hitting .303 with 8 of his 10 homers coming away from Wrigley. Given the Cubs' road success and the value in the number, CHICAGO (+120) looks like the smart play in Sunday's series finale at Comerica Park. PASS. No need to play with the run line when we're getting the Cubs ML at plus money. BET UNDER 8 (-105). The Under has hit in both games of this series and looks like a strong play again Sunday. The Cubs are 7-2-1 to the Under in their last 10 games, including 4 straight. Meanwhile, Detroit has stayed Under in 3 consecutive games. Flaherty is 2-1-1 to the Under in his last 4 starts, while Horton is 1-1-1 in his last 3. Expect another low-scoring battle. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow @DrewPhelps05 on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
Chicago Tribune
9 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Seiya Suzuki leads power surge with 2 of Chicago Cubs' 5 home runs in 6-1 rout of Detroit Tigers
DETROIT — The language barrier between Seiya Suzuki and his teammates disappears on days like Saturday at Comerica Park, where the Japanese slugger hit two home runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. No interpretation was necessary in the Cubs dugout after five home run celebrations. 'Happiness after home runs — that's great and universal,' Pete Crow-Armstrong said. Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Matt Shaw added to the home run barrage as the Cubs evened the series before a second straight sellout of 41,084, which included thousands of road-tripping Cubs fans. They managed only seven hits on the day, including an infield hit by Nico Hoerner, but made all of them count. 'We hit some homers today and didn't do much else,' manager Craig Counsell said. 'But homers are good. You get five homers, that's a pretty good day.' A quick fact-check confirmed Counsell's statement: Home runs are good. So is dominant starting pitching, and Jameson Taillon threw seven strong innings, allowing one run on three hits while improving to 6-3 with his fourth straight win. The Cubs have not lost two straight games since a three-game skid on May 6-9 against the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. 'We make ourselves a tough beat, and I think we've done that pretty darn regularly,' Counsell said. 'And that's going to put you on top a good amount of the time.' The Cubs are 18-7 over their last 25 games, the best record in the majors in that span, and go for the series win Sunday with rookie Cade Horton facing Jack Flaherty. Suzuki started the Cubs off with a solo home run in the first off left-hander Tyler Holton, the Tigers opener. Busch added a two-run shot off Keider Montero in the fifth, his 10th of the season, giving the Cubs five players with 10 or more home runs in only 64 games. The Cubs led 3-1 in the seventh when Crow-Armstrong cranked his 17th and Shaw hit his second. Suzuki added his second of the game off Chase Lee in the eighth. The competition between Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong has been an interesting sidebar to a season in which both could be headed to the All-Star Game. Suzuki took the RBI lead 55-54 on Saturday, but Crow-Armstrong remains ahead 17-16 in their home run battle. 'Pete was saying he was the power leader of the team,' Suzuki said through an interpreter. Crow-Armstrong countered that Suzuki challenged him after his first home run. 'I let him know today that he had to hit two, and I've still got him, so …' Crow-Armstrong said. 'Seiya says when he hits a home run, I have to as well. If that turns into real motivation, it's great.' Suzuki said Crow-Armstrong likes to pat him on the head, then added it's obvious who has the most power of the two 'if you look at his body.' He likes to consider their relationship like an adult and a child. 'Everything Pete does is like a little kid, so Pete is like my little brother,' he said. Crow-Armstrong strongly disagreed. 'That's up for debate,' he said. 'We can work that out behind closed doors.' The win was big after Friday's 3-1 loss, in which a poor decision by third-base coach Quintin Berry to send Crow-Armstrong home in a scoreless game against Tarik Skubal backfired. Berry quickly changed his mind and held Crow-Armstrong up at third, leading to Crow-Armstrong being tagged out and squelching a potential rally against the game's best pitcher. It was a pivotal play and a tough loss that could've lingered had the Cubs let it. 'It was a unique play, the way it went down,' Counsell said Saturday. 'Pete is a unique runner. So I think you talk about it, you learn from it and it helps you get better the next time.' The Cubs responded with a well-played game and got another huge performance from Taillon, the leader of a rotation that has endured a few bumps but has been fairly consistent since Shota Imanaga was sidelined on May 5 with a hamstring strain. Matthew Boyd has a 3.01 ERA this season and 40 strikeouts to only three walks over his last six starts. Colin Rea rebounded in Washington from back-to-back subpar outings against the Cincinnati Reds and has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his 10 starts. The Cubs have won in all of Horton's five appearances, including his debut in New York that included an opener. Ben Brown threw seven strong innings Friday in a tense duel with Skubal and has turned in his best two outings since Counsell used an opener for him last week at Wrigley Field. Taillon has morphed into the Cubs ace since the injury to Imanaga, who threw a bullpen Saturday at the team's complex in Mesa, Ariz. Imanaga will pitch in a game setting Monday in Arizona in hopes of returning later this month. The arrow is pointing up for the Cubs, who beat up on bad teams the last three weeks and have played well against baseball's best team in Detroit. Taillon said the atmosphere the last two days at Comerica has been something to see, though he pointed to the calendar in an effort to curb Cubs fans' enthusiasm. 'Obviously I've played in Detroit a lot and I've never seen the stadium like this with this kind of energy, which is really cool,' Taillon said. 'In that sense it's cool that it's two great teams going up against each other. But it's also June. 'Every series does count the same, but it's been a fun environment. It was a beautiful day at the park today. It was popping.' And when it's popping, the Cubs come ready to bop.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Tarik Skubal, Javier Báez and Pete Crow-Armstrong bring an October-like buzz to Cubs-Tigers series
DETROIT — Detroit Tigers fans have been pointing to this weekend's three-game series against the Chicago Cubs as a measuring stick. Comerica Park was buzzing Friday night as the best pitcher in baseball, Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, faced the major league's top-hitting offense in the series opener, while Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, one of the game's most exciting young players, matched up against former Cubs shortstop Javier Báez, whom Crow-Armstrong was traded for in the summer of 2021. 'It should set up for a pretty fun weekend in Detroit,' Skubal said earlier this week in Chicago. 'They've already posted stuff about how tickets are standing-room only. It'll be fun and a good series. That's a good team, a good lineup. They kind of do everything well.' So do the Tigers, who came in with baseball's best record at 41-23. The Cubs were right behind them at 39-23 and had the majors' best run differential at plus-106. Even so, Cubs manager Craig Counsell wouldn't take a bite out of the apple when asked if this resonated more than any other series. 'Look, it's a series in June,' Counsell said. 'There are going to be a lot of people here this weekend. That's fun for our players. They love that. It's a challenge against a good team. We love that. But other than that, it's three games. That's how you've got to treat it.' That's why Counsell is a manager and not a hype man. He never wavers in his lifelong pursuit of treating every day the same. But he knew fans and media would supersize this series into a made-for-October matchup in early June. Facing Skubal — the 2024 AL Cy Young Award winner — would be a monumental challenge for the Cubs, who just finished a 21-game stretch against sub-.500 teams with a 16-5 record. In his previous 10 starts, Skubal had 89 strikeouts to only three walks — the first pitcher in major-league history to post those numbers in a 10-game span during the same season. His 14.14-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio coming in was nearly double the next-closest competitor, and he had a 14-1 record and 1.95 ERA in 22 starts at Comerica Park since the start of the 2024 season. Hitters facing Skubal know he's going to throw strikes, so some just try to be aggressive early in the at-bat and hope he makes a mistake sooner or later. 'Hope is not really a strategy,' Counsell correctly said. Maybe, but as Andy Dufresne said in 'The Shawshank Redemption,' 'Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.' While Skubal was centerstage Friday, it also was a chance for Crow-Armstrong and the rejuvenated Báez to put on a show for a national streaming audience on Apple TV. With 16 home runs, 53 RBIs and 21 steals, Crow-Armstrong was the only player in the majors with at least 15 home runs, 50 RBI and 20 stolen bases. Báez, who was limited to 80 games last year due to injuries, is hitting .275 and playing four positions, making a bid for the Comeback Player of the Year award. Cubs President Jed Hoyer dealt Báez and pitcher Trevor Williams to the New York Mets at the 2021 trade deadline for the skinny prospect who was injured in Class A. It broke the hearts of many Cubs fans who grew to love Báez for his eye-opening skills at short and on the basepaths. Crow-Armstrong isn't really comparable to Báez, but they both love showing off their skills and playing to the crowds — and swinging at every pitch. Counsell said it's easy to see why they're linked together. 'I absolutely understand it, and the way they both hit — it's a free-swinging approach to hitting, if that translates well,' Counsell said. 'But it's really the other parts of the game that draws you to them. 'In Javy's case, it was kind of the flair on defense and the instinctual base running. In Pete's case, it's the thing you can do with speed. You can not know much about baseball and sports and say, 'That kid is fast.' And that's fun, and your eyes are drawn to that.' Báez is OK with the comparisons with Crow-Armstrong. 'If they say that, it's for a reason,' he said. 'He's been putting up the numbers. I've been seeing the type of athlete he is, and he's a really good athlete. Obviously it's great for the Cubs that he's playing really good baseball too. I'm just trying to stay healthy and play the whole season, and hopefully we can play against them in the playoffs.' That wouldn't just be the playoffs. It would be the World Series. If that happens, it would be a rematch of the 1945 World Series, which the Tigers won in seven games. The Cubs and Tigers were aiming for that rematch in 1984 until the Cubs lost to the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series after blowing a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series. That '84 season would be the Tigers' last championship. But that's not something anyone was thinking about as the series began Friday. As Counsell said, it's just three games in June. Is anyone buying that?
