Congratulations to Southern Westchester BOCES automotive technology students Andrew Stanson, Tuckahoe High School, and Tyler Shopinski, Harrison High School, who placed second in the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association 2010 Automotive Technology Regional Competition.

Taking fourth place in the regional competition were Michael D’Ambrosio of Eachester High School, and Joseph Porzio, from Harrison High School. Angel Retamozo of White Plains High School was the team alternate.

Only seniors can enter the annual competition, which is designed to measure a student’s technical knowledge and diagnostic abilities, as well as academic preparation. The competition was held at the association’s campus in Whitestone, Queens, on Jan. 13. There are two regional competitions: one for Westchester/Rockland Counties and another for Long Island.

Throughout the daylong event, students working in two-person teams were assigned a new car donated by Toyota rigged with multiple computer and mechanical malfunctions. The teams had to diagnose and repair the “bugs” within an allotted time period. Each correctly repaired problem was worth a number of points, depending on difficulty.

Students were also tested on their theoretical knowledge through a series of written and workstation exams.

Stanson and Shopinski will go on to compete in the New York State Auto Competition finals on Feb. 23. The winning teams from the finals will represent the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association at the National Automotive Technology Competition on April 6 and 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

More than $3 million in prizes and scholarships will be awarded to participating students and schools.

The competition “reinforces everything they’ve learned in class,” automotive teacher Michael Ward said. “It’s all to the boys. It’s the team that does it.”

“I always thought I wanted to be a mechanic, and the competition made me realize that it’s what I want to do more than anything,” Shopinski said. “Even if we didn’t place, we’d have all come home with smiles. It was a lot of fun.”