SGTC students win Gold at SkillsUSA Competition
Atlanta, GA – South Georgia Technical College students proudly represented the college at the 2026 Georgia SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta and won five Gold, four Silver, and three Bronze medals in competition against other college/postsecondary students from around the state.
“I am so proud of the accomplishments of our students,” said South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford. “These students and their instructors demonstrated their skills and program knowledge and were rated as the best or among the best in their fields at the state level. Now seven of these students will advance to the national competition.”
The individuals who took the Gold medals included: Daniel Eckler of Americus in Criminal Justice; Jacob Bellamy of Blountville, TN, in Diesel; Kenneth Bennett of Conyers, GA for Information Technology Services; Ashley Esquivel of Cordele for Nail Care; and the team of Bailey Battle of Summerville, Emma Foley of Kimberly, AL, and Katie Price of Abbeville, AL for the Occupational Health and Safety category. The advisors for these students and events included instructors: Teresa McCook, Criminal Justice; Don Rountree from Heavy Equipment Dealer’s Service Technology; Veronda Cladd, Information Technology Services; Jessakeetha Maddox, Nail Technology; and Matthew Burk and Don Rountree from Ag Technology and Heavy Equipment Dealer’s Service Technology for the Occupational Health and Safety competition.
These seven state Gold medal winners will represent South Georgia Technical College and the State of Georgia in the National SkillsUSA contest, June 1 – 5 in Atlanta. SGTC took a total of 33 students and 16 or nearly 50% of those who competed earned a medal as one of the best in their areas.
The four Silver Medal winners included: Liliana Martinez of Abbeville, Customer Service; Cameron Wilson of Snellville, Electronics; Artavius Warren of Americus, Electrical Construction Wiring; and A’Neya Mack of Plains, Technical Computer Applications. The instructors from each of the program areas were: Jessakeetha Maddox, Nail Technician; Mike Collins, Electronics; Patrick Owen, Electrical Technology; and Veronda Cladd, Computer Information Systems.
The Silver medal winners will have the opportunity to compete at the National Level if for some reason the Gold medal winner in their category cannot attend and compete.
In addition to the Gold and Silver medal winners from SGTC, three students took Bronze medals. Mason Herron of Americus took Bronze in Aviation; Kalil Cody of Andersonville for Barbering; and the team of Charity Brown of Griffin, Naomi Stevenson of Byron, and Hailey Gregory of Americus for Crime Scene Investigation. Charles Christmas and Victoria Herron were the Aviation Maintenance Instructors; Andre Robinson was the instructor for Barbering; and Teresa McCook is the Criminal Justice Instructor that assisted her students.
The 33 students who competed in the State SkillUSA competition and their areas of competition included: Bailey Battle, Occupational Health and Safety; Jacob Bellamy, Diesel Equipment Technology; Kenneth Bennett, Information Technology Services; Tayla Brantley, Job Skill Demonstration Open; Charity Brown, Crime Scene Investigation; Eren Brown, Computer Programing, Alela Bush, Crime Scene Invetigation; Jesse Cadenhead, Extemporaneous Speaking; Kalil Cody, Barbering; William Crawford, Information Technology Services; Jonathan Dubon, Aviation Maintenance Technology; Daniel Eckler, Criminal Justice; Ashley Esquivel, Nail Care; Emma Foley, Occupational Health and Safety; Connor Gillard, Diesel Equipment Technology; Hailey Gregory, Crime Scene Investigation; Ryan Heard, Diesel Equipment Technology; James Herron, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Mason Herron, Aviation Maintenance Technology; Anthony Jenkins, Prepared Speech; Aniyah Lyles, Nail Care Model; A’neya Mack, Technical Computer applications Liliana Martinez, Customer Service; Colton McBride, Diesel Equipment Technology; Noah McKinney, Welding; Kendell Phillips, Automotive Service Technology; Katie Price, Occupational Health and Safety; Mikayla Sanders, Job Skill Demonstration; Naomi Stevenson, Crime Scene Investigation; Ian Stewart, Extemporaneous Speaking; Myles Swindle, Diesel Equipment Technology; Artavius Warren, Electrical Construction Wiring; and Cameron Wilson, Electronics Technology.
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and SGTC SkillsUSA Advisor Brenda Gilliam worked with the students and their instructors to prepare students for the SkillsUSA State competition and will be attending the National competition with the students and instructors.
The SkillsUSA organization serves more than 440,000 career and technical education students and instructors annually and has served 15 million members since 1965. The organization has chapters in middle schools, high schools, and college/postsecondary institutions nationally.
South Georgia Technical College provides students with the “Complete College Experience” and offers students over 200 associate degree, diploma, and technical certificate of credit educational opportunities. SGTC continues to prepare students for high-demand careers through hands-on training, industry partnerships, and leadership development opportunities. For more information about programs or to apply at SGTC visit, www.southgatech.edu.