Whether it was constructing wrist corsages or playing robot hockey, more than 1,000 high school students from across Stanislaus County put their skills to the test in 16 events at the 39th annual Occupational Olympics and Career Exposition on Thursday at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds.

The event is designed to promote academic and occupational understanding in various careers, and recognize high school students who excel in their mastery of skills related to those vocations.

Students were judged by school staff members and representatives from local business and industry on their knowledge, ability to perform tasks, and employability skills.

Turlock’s Krista Vannest, now with Stockton Unified School District, is a former agriculture teacher at Pitman High and Modesto Junior College. She was on hand to help judge the floriculture competition.

“This morning the students had to compete in the knowledge portion of the even, where they had to identify common cut flowers, common potted plants, and common tools that would be used in the floral industry,” said Vannest. “Based on their knowledge and the exam that they took, the top 20 advanced to the construction portion.”

There, competitors were all given the same materials and had 30 minutes to create a wrist corsage.

“Biggest thing is I want to see the right shape,” said Vannest. “A typical corsage has a circular shape and kind of looks like an ice cream cone or a muffin top. Then, the mechanics of it — the glue, the wiring, the tape — should all be hidden. You don’t want to walk into your event and have all the glue stuck to you. And we’re looking for the distribution of the flowers. There are main flowers, filler flowers, and greens that are meant to help disguise and to create that rounded shape.”

Patterson High students finished 1-2-3 in the floriculture competition.

Overall, Turlock High was the large-school champion, while Hughson was tops among small schools. Modesto’s Enochs High took home the Career Pathway Exhibit award.

More than just competition, there were more than three dozen representatives on hand from businesses and schools from throughout the region. One was the Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts in Modesto. Students were on hand to demonstrate front-office and back-office skills — such as checking glucose and hemoglobin levels for passersby — that will help them become medical assistants.

The event was sponsored by the Stanislaus County Office of Education, Stanislaus Partners in Education, Stanislaus County Fair, Modesto Junior College, various local businesses, and school districts countywide.

Local winners are listed below:

·         Ag engineering/construction trades: 1st—Milo McFarlane (Turlock), 2nd—Caleb Voight (Turlock), Aiden Bishop (Turlock).

·         Ag equipment technology: 1st—Haiden Lopes (Turlock), 2nd—Gavin Brandao (Turlock), 3rd—Gary Coldicutt (Hughson).

·         Animal husbandry: 1st—Claire Golden (Oakdale), 2nd—Hayley Kuppons (Oakdale), 3rd—Holly Conde (Oakdale).

·         Basic life support: 1st—Summer Galvan and Summer Diaz (Turlock), 2nd—Ashley Valle and Valeria Ramirez (Turlock), 3rd—Ana Razo Salazar and Jose Garcia Perez (Davis).

·         Child development (children’s lit): 1st—Ranial Smith (Waterford), 2nd—Consuelo Cisneros and Isaac Sanchez (Modesto), 3rd—Angel Fuentes (Modesto).

·         Child development (communication): 1st—Noemi Aba Carbajal (Modesto), 2nd—Alvaro Hernandez (Modesto), 3rd—Steven Suarez (Modesto).

·         Child development (inquiry): 1st—Katherine Gomez, Melenau Nui, Noemi Perez (Modesto), 2nd—Chanty Tep (Modesto).

·         Criminal Justice: 1st—Adrian Fuentes (Ceres), 2nd—Jadasa Haro (Ceres), 3rd—Yurriana Garcia (Central Valley).

·         Firefighter candidate: 1st—Aaron Silva (Escalon), 2nd—Max Velasco (Escalon), 3rd—Mason Juergenson (Davis).

·         Floriculture: 1st—Mariangela Gonez (Patterson), 2nd—Annalisa Ramirez (Patterson), 3rd—Beeja Lopez (Patterson).

·         Job-seeking skills: 1st—Madyson Daniels (Central Valley), 2nd—Diego Mendoza (Central Valley), 3rd—Isaac Armante (Central Valley).

·         Medical occupations: 1st—Landon Tilby (Turlock), 2nd—Faith Hinton-Smith (Davis), 3rd—Caleb Staley (Turlock).

·         Pitsco drag racing (lightweight): 1st—Kevin Mendoza Rodriguez (Turlock), 2nd—Troy Cox (Oakdale), 3rd—Jacob Nickolauson (Oakdale).

·         Pitsco drag racing (heavyweight): 1st—Eliseo Martinez (Turlock), 2nd—Dayton Bolk (Turlock), 3rd—Blake Bonander (Turlock).

·         Pitsco drag racing design: 1st—Eliseo Martinez (Turlock), Shyanne McKee (Oakdale), 3rd—Declan Edwards (Oakdale).

·         Robotics tech: 1st—Angela Franco Esparza, Ethan My, Emiliano Jimenez (Central Valley), 2nd—Emily Zepeda, Jesus Jimenez, (Stanislaus Military Academy), 3rd—Evan Martins, Anthony Tovar (Orestimba).

·         Salad preparation and display: 1st—Payton Williams (Pitman), 2nd—Luis Figueroa (Pitman), 3rd—Zaira Villegas (Riverbank).

·         Small-engine tech: 1st—Noah Daigre (Beyer), 2nd—DJ Davison (Beyer), 3rd—Jack Faulkner (Hughson).

·         Video-game expo: 1st—Wanyi Xie and Landon Ruckman (Enochs), 2nd—Tyler Raff, Aiden Vargas, Jaxton Morton (Oakdale), 3rd—Ethan Keller, Noah Miller, Nathaniel Mercado (Orestimba).

·         Welding: 1st—Alex Yanez (Pitman), 2nd—Logan Ledford (Patterson), 3rd—Nolan Harris (Oakdale).