Update: Anthony Langeland won first place in the Skills USA National Competition, making him the national champion in Diesel Technology.
Anthony Langeland, 18, won the Skills U.S.A. gold medal award in Diesel Technology in the state of Michigan.
A student at both Unity Christian High School, Hudsonville, Mich., and Centerline Tech Center, Holland, Mich., Langeland competed on April 18 after winning an earlier regional competition. The competition involved diagnosing what was wrong with a semi’s diesel engine, taking a written test, and then being interviewed. As the state champion, Langeland will be Michigan’s representative at the Skills U.S.A. national competition in Louisville, Kentucky.
Winning the first place medal brought the soon-to-be graduate hundreds of dollars’ worth of tools along with very generous scholarships from industry-related companies. Even so, his mother Glynda Langeland called him “a humble kid.” In fact, when he returned from the competition and was asked how things went, he simply said, “I might have won.”
Langeland’s interest and skill in mechanics comes naturally. Not only are several family members, especially his dad, mechanically inclined, but the Langelands have a large farm on which Anthony has learned a great deal from working on its equipment, diesel and otherwise. Additionally, Anthony does quite a bit of mechanical tinkering on various friends’ cars.
The Langelands are members of Lamont (Mich.) Christian Reformed Church and live just outside Coopersville.
About the Author
Anita Ensing Beem is a freelance news correspondent for The Banner. Retired director of education and outreach at North Hills CRC in Troy, Mich., she now resides in Grand Rapids, Mich., and is a member of First CRC.
