BANGOR, Maine — Two students from Eastern Maine Community College are heading to the national championship of an automotive competition.

"I'm ecstatic,” said Nathaniel Kirkendall, an automotive technology student at EMCC.

Kirkendall and his teammate, Gavin McDonough, have advanced to the national championship of the Mopar CAP Bracket Challenge .

“It feels pretty cool,” McDonough said. “It's an odd feeling. I haven't done anything like this before.”

Automotive technology students from all over the country compete in a series of real-world diagnostic and repair tasks. It started with a 200-question test and fixing a completely dismantled engine, all while being timed.

"[It] was pretty challenging because of lack of timing to prepare for and technical difficulties that happened in th

See Full Page