Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 7, 1993 TAG: 9307030138
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
He finished at least fifth, maybe fourth, and got a certificate of accomplishment; the official standings won't be available for two weeks.
That might not sound like much, but his teacher, Maury Sharp, said point spreads at the top "tend to be very close" for the national competition. He's not sure how tight it was this year, but he said Shelor managed to beat the expected first-place score.
When the daylong competition was over, Shelor didn't think he'd done that well. Although he picked up about 84 percent of the 550 total points, he now believes that, with a few points here and a little more time there, he could have topped the field.
"I probably could have done better," he said Wednesday, calling the competition "not hard at all" and vowing to go for the gold in post-secondary competition next year, when he attends New River Community College.
In May, Shelor took the top statewide precision machining honors. Last week, he competed against winners from the other 49 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Overall, the VICA national competition attracted more than 6,000 contestants in many vocational fields.
Sharp, who accompanied him to Louisville, was proud that the first Virginia precision-machining entrant to make the top 10 in several years was one of his.
"He was smooth. There were no panic-stricken looks," he said. "I felt like he was very strong in every part of it."
"We're very well pleased," he said.
The national event involved blueprint reading, parts inspection, a knowledge test, ability to use basic shop tools, lathes and milling equipment, and even something called "computerized numerical control."
One test project called for him to fashion metal parts and make them fit together, using only hand tools, a drill press and a surface grinder. He scored 94 percent.
"He was pretty tired by the time he got done filing and sawing," Sharp said.
Shelor claimed to take it all in stride.
"There wasn't any pressure on me at all out there," said the 18-year-old, who conceded blueprint reading was the hardest event.
He said that because it seemed everyone was carrying a clipboard, it was hard to tell who the judges were. So, he didn't pay much attention to the people milling about as the contestants moved from one project station to another.
Shelor based his strategy on observations of the 1991 and 1992 national competitions, spending most of his time on those aspects of each project that meant the most points.
"I tried to go for as many points as I could," he said, adding that he paced himself against the other top performers. The apparent winner was from Utah.
"He was really turning out some stuff," he said.
It was a grueling day, starting at 7:30 in the morning and running until nearly 5 p.m., with only two short breaks and 40 minutes for lunch. But it was fun, too.
"I really enjoyed it. I got to meet a lot of people," he said. "It was wild."
Shelor is looking forward to a machinist's career when he completes a two-year program at New River Community College. The local Lion's Club recently awarded him a $600 scholarship.
by CNB