Moving with the practiced speed and precision of a NASCAR pit crew, the competitive engine tear-down team from South Elgin High School’s auto club placed seventh in a nationwide competition earlier this month.
The team had to finish strong in several state tournaments to get into the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge in Las Vegas. The U46 team took apart and reassembled a General Motors “muscle car” engine four times in an average of 26 minutes and 28 seconds each. And last week, the five team members and teacher Steve Schertz carried the engine and their tools to the meeting of the School District U46 Board of Education to show off how they did it.
Unfortunately, though, school administrators hadn’t thought to measure how wide the entrances into the board meeting room are. The engine turned out to be too big to get inside. So when the time came for the students to show off what they do, the board members and a few interested people from the audience had to step into the building’s entrance hall and watch the engine get taken apart there.
More than 250 teams around the country participated in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow challenge. Just 22 made it into the finals, which were held over three days,.
“All the auto club members are working toward receiving professional certification,” said Kinasha Brown, U46’s career and technical education coordinator. “The club provides students with real-world application in their chosen field before they even graduate.”
More Top Picks Best Work Boots For Concrete Floors
The South Elgin team competed four times over the three-day competition in Las Vegas. The times were averaged for the national ranking. In preparation for the competition, the team practiced three times a week after school for two to three hours each.
“I really enjoy giving the students something they can use in the future,” Schertz said. “To say that they competed in nationals carries a lot of clout in job applications and resumes. They competed nationally among other high school students in their ranks and did a fantastic job.”
Three of the team members — Dean Alteri, Sammy Marsala and Dan Perritt — hope to become engineers in the auto industry after they graduate. One — Ryan Rompel — wants to become a tool and dye maker. The team’s only girl — Leanne Driscoll, who mans the workbench, getting tools and parts ready just when the other four need each one — plans to become a veterinarian while continuing to work on cars in her spare time.