KCCC students compete at SkillsUSA state competition in Columbus

Beau Keller places first in 2-Axis turning and qualifies for nationals

Two men posing in a spacious indoor hall, one holding a silver case and both wearing lanyards.

Beau Keller, left, a senior in Precision Machining at the Knox County Career Center, placed first in 2-Axis Turning at the SkillsUSA State Competition in Columbus on May 5-6. With him is Joe LaFevre, the KCCC SkillsUSA Co-Advisor & Precision Machining instructor.

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Published May 12, 2026 - 2:04 p.m.

The SkillsUSA State Competition was held in Columbus on May 5-6 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

The SkillsUSA State Competition brings over 5,000 competitors, business and industry partners, instructors, and vendors together in over 100 contests in all 16 Career Pathways to showcase Career and Technical Education in Ohio.

KCCC had over 20 students who competed in various SkillsUSA State competitions.

Beau Keller (Precision Machining) earned first place in 2-Axis Turning and will be moving on to SkillsUSA Nationals in June. Brandyn Thomas (Health Technologies) earned second place in Medical Terminology. Melinda Hart (Health Technologies) earned third place in Phlebotomy. Olivia Huffman, Abby Dickerson, and Kendall Riel (Health Technologies) earned third place in Career Pathway Health Tech Team.

Joe LaFevre, KCCC’s SkillsUSA Co-Advisor and Precision Machining instructor, said, “All of our students competed extremely well at the SkillsUSA State competition. KCCC was well represented! I am extremely happy for Beau. He is a sharp young man and has worked hard perfecting his craft."