Aims Community College students showcased their skills in automotive collision repair and refinishing at the SkillsUSA Regional Competition, earning top placements.
Aims Students Showcase Auto Collision Repair and Refinishing Skills at Regional Competition
February 09, 2026
Aims Automotive 2026 regional SkillsUSA winners. Pictured left to right: Jesse Biederman, Diana Perry, Carter Sargent, Tristen Jeffrey, Cloud Kline, Daniel Carrillo, Miranda Eckhardt, Olivia Chivers and Megan Pierret.
The competition, held at the Automotive & Technology Center on the Aims Windsor Campus, brought together 30 total student competitors, including 20 from Aims and 10 from Morgan Community College. Students tested their abilities in real-world automotive repair and refinishing scenarios under the eyes of industry professionals.
“Participation in this competition is about students investing in themselves and their futures because this is an extracurricular event,” said Mike Hanscome, Aims automotive instructor and advisor for the SkillsUSA team. “They’ve chosen to do this, and the instructors have chosen to give time to help these students.”
Judges from Denver, Cheyenne and Northern Colorado evaluated student performance in key technical areas, including collision repair, refinishing and damage appraisal estimating. “The judges are looking to see how the student performs tasks and their proficiency in performing them,” Hanscome said. “These competencies are what the industry deems necessary for a student to get a job.”
The top finishers from the regional event will advance to the Colorado State Leadership and Skills Conference, held April 7–9 in Pueblo, with the chance to compete nationally in Atlanta, June 1–5.
Nine Aims students will be moving on to the state competition:
Collision|Post-Secondary
Jesse Biederman | second place
Olivia Chivers| third place
Refinishing | Post-Secondary
Tristen Jeffrey | first place
Daniel Carrillo | second place
Megan Pierret| third place
Damage Appraisal | Post-Secondary
Cloud Kline | first place
Carter Sargent | second place
Diana Perry| third place
Collision|Secondary
Miranda Eckhardt | first place
Aims Automotive is now in its 14th year of participating in SkillsUSA, with a national medal count that includes 15 podium finishes and 11 national championships.
Get more information about Aims Automotive degrees and certificates at aims.co/automotive.
