Tea Area students excel at State SkillsUSA Competition, bring home multiple championships

Tea Area High School students showcased their skills on a big stage April 9-10, earning top honors at the 2026 South Dakota SkillsUSA State Competition. 

Hosted by Mitchell Technical College, the annual event brought together more than 450 high school and post-secondary students, along with teachers, advisors, judges and industry partners. The conference featured a variety of competitions and leadership development opportunities, highlighting career and technical education programs across the state.

Tea Area’s Titan welding program delivered a standout performance, continuing a dominant run at the state level. For the third consecutive year, Tea Area claimed the overall team championship in welding while also sweeping the top three individual placements out of 45 competitors.

Nick Jones led the way as the state champion, followed by Landry Coy in second and Gage Little in third. Tucker Wingert added to the team’s success with a fourth-place finish.

In the fabrication team competition, Tea Area also secured a strong second-place finish. Team members included Leighton M., Brandt Smolik and Kade Korleski.

Tea Area students also found success in construction events. Easton Schelske was crowned state champion in the individual construction competition for the second consecutive year.

In the TeamWorks competition, which required students to construct a shed while demonstrating skills in blueprint reading, framing, plumbing, bricklaying, soldering and electrical work, Tea Area earned third place. 

In addition to competition success, three Tea Area participants served as state officers for SkillsUSA, representing South Dakota at the leadership level. They include: Landry Coy- Skills USA President; Kade Korleski- Skills USA Historian; and Tucker Wingert- Skills USA Reporter

Former Tea Area student and two-time state champion welder Parker Wilson returned to speak with competitors at the State competition, sharing how SkillsUSA has positively impacted his career and life after high school.

With their performances, Jones and Schelske have qualified to represent South Dakota at the national SkillsUSA competition, scheduled to be held June 1-5 in Atlanta.