Congrats to ALL the teams that competed in the AAPEX Student Competition
Nine teams from seven schools put it all on the line on a national stage; the event was made possible through the generosity of volunteers and sponsoring aftermarket businesses
LAS VEGAS – November 11, 2026 – AAPEX recently published a press release announcing the winners of the 2nd Annual AAPEX Student Competition. As the announcement describes, the team representing Arapahoe Community College won the competition and took home first place.
That said, the team here at AAPEX wants to recognize all of the competitors who showed up to compete. It takes courage and commitment to practice and step on a national stage for a competition.
As an old coach once said to a member of the AAPEX event team, “There are no losers in competition, only winners and learners.” To that end, every team that entered has already distinguished themselves from their peers. Indeed, you are the future leaders of the automotive aftermarket.
The participating teams include the following:
- Advanced Training Institute, Las Vegas, Nev.: Coach Ken Faverty, Darrion Franklin and Joshua Ritchie
- Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, Colo.: Coach Bob Parmley, Schafer Eirich and John Parmley
- College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, Nev.: Coach Jesse Gerlach, Taner Yoshishige and Preston Huntsman
- Ferris State University, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Coach Fred Bliss, Nathan Corey and Riley Shearer
- Ferris State University, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Coach Fred Bliss, Noah Gorden and Dewy Smith
- Heritage High School, Palm Bay, Fla.: Coach Michael Broud, Caleb Klar and John Saglimbeni
- Humble High School, Humble, Texas: Coach Jose Chapa Jeremiah Lavalais-Carter Chris Saldana
- North Kansas City High Schools, North Kansas City, Mo.: Coach Jack Stow, Ashley Caldwell and Amelia Hensley
- North Kansas City High Schools, North Kansas City, Mo.: Coach Jack Stow, Adrian Madinger and Taem Aljallad (2025 ingaural champions)
It’s worth noting that Adrian and Taem won the inguinal competition in 2025 – you can read about their victory here.
Many thanks to the sponsors and volunteers
This event is made possible by a group of volunteers from the Auto Care Association Tool & Equipment Community, who coordinated the tools, prizes and gift bags.
We especially want to thank Bernard Tansey, who owns Euro Clinic, an independent repair shop based in Santa Clara, Calif. He has spent countless hours organizing the event and personally set up the competition area, which is a sizable task.
AAPEX also thanks Charles Sanville, better known as The Humble Mechanic. Charles co-judged the event and offered running commentary alongside Bernard to keep the fans informed and entertained.
Finally, we also want to thank the aftermarket businesses that sponsored this event. It simply wouldn’t be possible without you. Please join AAPEX in thanking the following businesses for supplying tools, equipment and prizes:
- Carlyle Tools
- Milwaukee Tool
- Dorman Products
- Duralast Parts (by AutoZone, Inc.)
Additionally, businesses sponsoring tools for the competition include:
- Carlyle Tools
- Lisle Corporation
- Niterra
- Snap-on Incorporated
- SP Tools USA
- SureWerx
The AAPEX Student Competition will be back next year. Volunteers and businesses interested in getting involved can email: [email protected]
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AAPEX 2027 will be held from Nov. 2-4, 2027, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at The Venetian Expo & AAPEX Forum. See the exhibitor prospectus for exhibiting details. Complimentary passes are available to the media; email: [email protected].
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