They will move on after winning first place at the 16th annual Western New York High School Automotive Competition on Jan. 16, which they couldn’t have done without help from automobile dealerships in Fredonia, Dunkirk and Hamburg.

For Robert Himes and Jarrett Parsell, both seniors at Gowanda High School and Automotive Technology students at the E2CCB LoGuidice Educational Center in Fredonia, that kind of help could prove crucial for them at the National Automotive Technology Competition.

“Without the dealers’ support, it would be difficult to train the students with after-market equipment and emerging technologies that have not yet been released to educational systems,” said Jason Delcamp, one of two Automotive Technology Instructors at the LoGuidice Center. “When businesses partner with schools for the students, the outcome equals success.”

On Jan. 16 at the Erie Community College Vehicle Technology Training Center in Orchard Park, Himes and Parsell had to start with a broken-down 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, working fast to diagnose the vehicle’s problems and get it back into working condition. They ended up winning first place, taking the 40-pound piston-shaped trophy home with them to the LoGuidice Center.

“Both students were determined when they walked in as juniors,” said Paul Mihalko, the LoGuidice Center’s other Automotive Technology Instructor. “It was no surprise that these two won first place. Their work ethic was phenomenal.”

Leading up to the competition, which was organized by the Niagara Frontier Automobile Dealers Association, Himes and Parsell worked long hours at the LoGuidice Center with both Delcamp and Mihalko preparing. They even worked through winter break before the instructors determined that they were ready for more advanced training at the dealerships.

Larry Spacc GMC on Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk helped train Himes and Parsell in diagnostics, scan tool operation and the General Motors repair information service. West Herr Chevrolet on Southwestern Drive in Hamburg helped train the students in repairing the kind of vehicle they would have to confront at the competition. And Robert Basil Chevrolet on East Main Street in Fredonia lent Delcamp and Mihalko a vehicle on which the students could practice.

Both instructors said they were grateful for assistance they received from the dealerships. They also expressed gratitude toward Robert Anderson, the students’ Principal at Gowanda High School, for his support as they prepared for the competition.

On April 6 and 7, Himes and Parsell will compete in the national competition at the New York International Auto Show, and Delcamp and Mihalko are hoping they will draw a domestic automobile so they could again utilize the expertise of local dealers. They won’t know what they have in store for them until next month, though, according to Delcamp.

The LoGuidice Center has taken home the first-place trophy at the Western New York High School Automotive Competition three times in the last six years.