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National Champ: Caleb Eyler raises the bar

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Caleb Eyler, three-time district champion, two-time state champion, and national champion, is at home in the auto collision technology shop at the Warren County Career Center.

National Champion Caleb Eyler is uncommitted and looking at options.

He could accept a full-ride scholarship to Ohio Technical College. Or, the full-ride offer from Universal Technical Institute.

The 18-year-old from Sugar Grove could take the thousands of dollars of scholarship money he has been awarded to other schools.

Eyler could skip all that and take the abundance of skills he has and tools he has won and go straight to work or maybe hold out until a head-hunter from a major nationwide company comes calling.

His skills are not in question.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry

In the field of automotive collision repair, Eyler has little competition.

In his first year in the collision repair program at Warren County Career Center, Eyler was chosen to represent his school and his shop at the district-level SkillsUSA competition. Teacher Bob Smith asked him which specialty Eyler would like to compete in.

Eyler picked the painting. “Perfect,” Smith said. “You’re going for the collision portion.”

“He did that to get me out of my element,” Eyler said.

It put him solidly in the way of any other students who had hopes of SkillsUSA Collision gold in the district for three years.

Photo submitted to Times Observer

After three years, Eyler has never brought home anything but gold from that event.

He has had a hand in creating trends at the competition. In the first year, he was the only student to show up with his own tools. Now, it is common to see students with tool boxes.

District titles come with trips to state competitions.

At the state level, Eyler finished in second place once in the three years that he qualified by winning the district. The other two years, he was first.

The state level event features a high school category and a college category.

For two years, Eyler’s scores were not only the best in the high school level he competed in, but would have taken first at the college level as well. In response, no gold medals were awarded at the college level those years.

Gold at states qualified him for nationals for the past two years.

Out of the 50 competitors — the best their states have to offer — Eyler came in 13th last year. And, this year, he finished first.

“It’s just something I naturally took a skill at,” he said.

Eyler grew up in an automotive environment. His older brother Collin took the auto collision technology class and loved it, Caleb said. Then he started doing some body work at the family business — Busti Auto Parts. “I would hang out, watch him do body work.”

“You can show Caleb how to do something and he’ll just instinctively do it right,” Smith said. “He’s unique. He masters the automotive knowledge on the testing and at the same time the hands-on things.”

“In collision work, you see how it was and you get to see how well you did,” he said. “It’s a push to do the best you can.”

And Smith wants to help.

“If you want to learn, he’ll teach you,” Eyler said. “He’ll take the time.”

“On weekends, we’d say, ‘Let’s run to a couple shops,'” Eyler said.

So, Smith and a few students, including Eyler, would head for Bonnell’s Collision, Laughlin Collision, Mill Run Collision, or Lake City Paint. Closer to home, they would visit Koebley Collision.

“It allowed us to see and use equipment that we don’t have access to here at the career center,” Smith said. “And, the owners would spend hours talking with us.”

Eyler is a well-rounded competitor. “While some people might be good at one thing and stick to it,” his scores were at or near the top of the list in all of the seven or eight categories.

Those scores reflect a lot of little things added up with his drive and talent.

Little things can help a student have more time for bigger things. Eyler has experimented with such things as what methods will help glue dry faster.

One of the things Smith likes to emphasize in his class that fits well with the Skills USA judging, is interviewing. “We always start the day off with questions or interviewing,” he said.

“You have to do it in front of the whole class,” Eyler said.

Classmates were often enthusiastic in helping Eyler and other students prepare for the pressure of competition. They would say things like, “We’ll distract you and see how fast you can do it.”

“We would always watch his score sheets,” Smith said. “We would reinforce what he did well…”

“… and hit what we’re not good at even harder,” Eyler said. “I always felt prepared.”

Now, he is prepared to move forward. But he is not in a hurry to accept a scholarship or a job.

“I’ve already beat the college kids,” he said. “My dad owns a shop. Other places have already offered me jobs.”

Until he makes the next big decision, Eyler is working every day at Busti Auto. He has started up an auto body specialty again. “I love what I do,” he said. “It’s fun.”

Smith will miss his SkillsUSA star, but expects Eyler’s impacts to linger. “He has raised the bar and a lot of students have jumped on,” Smith said. “Hopefully we will be able to continue that excitement.”

“If you come here and you really want to learn, I can guarantee you you’re going to have success,” Eyler said. That goes for the whole career center. “Every course here has a lot of opportunity.”

Eyler has finished his years at the career center, but he may not be done with the competitions. “There is a world championship,” he said.

In two years, Eyler will go head-to-head against next year’s national champion for the right to represent the United States.

Eyler is not sure where he would be competing, but the last two world championship events have been in Russia and Dubai.

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