A team of four high school seniors in Salina Area Technical College’s welding program brought home the first-place plaque from North Central Kansas Technical College’s annual Gas Metal Arc Welding competition in Beloit.

The competition attracted teams from 29 schools across the state, including teams from Topeka, Louisburg and Arkansas City.

This is the third consecutive year the Salina Tech team has taken first place at the event.

Individual placings for the Salina Tech team are:

• Riley Odell, a senior at Smoky Valley High School: Seventh place
• Bradyn Weber, a senior at Smoky Valley High School: 13^th place (tie)
• Kyle Anderson, a senior at Smoky Valley High School: 13^th place (tie)
• Wayne Ruble, a senior at Minneapolis High School, 21^st place

High school juniors and seniors can enroll in most of the college’s technical programs while still in high school — and pay no tuition — while also taking their regular high school classes.