Moraine Park’s Electrical Power Distribution (EPD) program hosted the College’s second in-state Wisconsin Technical College System EPD Rodeo—a skills competition held at the Beaver Dam Campus on April 11. In total, 78 students competed from Blackhawk, Northcentral, Moraine Park and Milwaukee Area technical colleges.
The 2024 EPD Rodeo tested students on climbing, speed, strength and fluidity through eight field events: Weighted Hand Line Lift (2-person team event), Obstacle Climb and Insulator Change Out, Fuse Change Out with Extend-O Stick, Bell Run, Egg Climb, Fill and Carry, Brace and Bit and C1-3 Pole Framing (2-person team event).
“With the help of the other instructors and staff involved, all of the attending students were able to network and see more tools and equipment used in our trade,” Kelvin Schlagel, an EPD instructor at Moraine Park, said. “The feedback from the day was resoundingly positive from everyone involved. One of my personal goals as an instructor is to help expose students to others in and around line work. The community is small and connections made between individuals will often last a lifetime.”
Former instructors and industry leaders from WE Energies, ACEC, Irby Utilities, MEUW, MG&E, New Holstein, Manitowoc, and Michels Power served as judges.
The event was made possible through various industry sponsors including Altec Inc, Terex, Irby Utilities, Tallman Equipment, DDIN, Milwaukee Tool, Michels Power, Bashlin Industries, WE Energies Foundation, MEUW, ACEC, Wisconsin Rapids Lighting Commission, Manitowoc Public Utilities, New Holstein Utilities, Jolma Utilities, MG&E, JD Laser and IBEW 2150.
Overall Placements
- Moraine Park Technical College (P.M. Class) — 33 points
- Milwaukee Area Technical College — 28 points
- Moraine Park Technical College (A.M. Class) — 25 points
- Northcentral Technical College — 18 points
- Blackhawk Technical College — 14 points
Event Placements
Weighted Hand Line Lift
- Gage Krause, Cade Kurzinski, NTC
- Kevin Haasse, Cameron Swinford, NTC
- Dontae Dearborn, AJ Tritt, MPTC
- Caleb Quest, Brett Salm, MPTC
- Jack Alore, Conrad Stuesser, MATC
Obstacle Climb and Insulator Change-Out
- Zachery Welter, MATC
- Conrad Stuesser, MATC
- Colt Lachance, MATC
- Jacob Woznicki, MATC
- Aiden Doonan, MATC
Fuse Change Out with Extend-O Stick
- Rusty Klitzman, Blackhawk
- Brett Salm, MPTC
- Cody Harris, MPTC
- Cade Rux, MPTC
- Zachery Welter, MATC
Bell Run
- Zach Baross, MPTC
- Alexander Kuehn, MPTC
- Conrad Stuesser, MATC
- Aiden Doonan, MATC
- Jacob Anderson, NTC
Egg Climb
- Conrad Stuesser, MATC
- Ryan McWane, MPTC
- Canren Conklin, Blackhawk
- Dylan DuClos, Blackhawk
- Bohdi Degrandt, MPTC
Fill and Carry
- Mason Gellings, MPTC
- Alexander Kuehn, MPTC
- Kevin Haasse, NTC
- Keagan Lang, MPTC
- Cody Harris, MPTC
Brace and Bit
- Ian Pagel, NTC
- Jacob Uttendorfer, MPTC
- Caleb Quest, MPTC
- Riley Danowski, MPTC
- Zach Baross, MPTC
C1-3 Pole Framing
- Dane Stanul, Keagan Lang, MPTC
- Logan Frei, Joel Palomares, Blackhawk
- Dylan Kohn, Connor Rosenmeier, MPTC
- Nicholas Slawnikowski, Ian Feuling, MATC
- Jacob Uttendorfer, Own Binkelman, MPTC