Nearly 60 Lehigh Career & Technical Institute students notched top-three finishes Feb. 3 at the SkillsUSA District 11 Championships at the Agri-Plex.

The annual competition pitted LCTI students against their peers from Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, Career Institute of Technology, Monroe Career & Technical Institute and Upper Bucks County Technical School in more than 50 contests of skill ranging from advertising design to welding.LCTI students racked up 16 gold medals, 19 silver medals and 23 bronze medals. All of the event's gold-medal winners earned a berth at this spring's 2016 SkillsUSA Pennsylvania Leadership and Skill Championships in Hershey.Sponsored by local businesses, the championships are an opportunity for students from the region's high schools to apply what they've learned in class to challenging scenarios that simulate demands of the 21st-century workplace. They also serve as means to expose the larger Lehigh Valley community to the value of career and technical education.Here are the winners from the Times News coverage area.Gold-medal winners• CNC Technician: Gavin Mengel, Northwestern Lehigh• Early Childhood: Cassidy Shupp, Northwestern Lehigh• Power Equipment Technology: Dylan Berger, Northern Lehigh High School• Welding: Nick Baer, Northwestern Lehigh High SchoolSilver-medal winners• Basic Health Care Skills: Caitlynn Lucas, Northwestern Lehigh High School• Diesel Equipment Technology: Dale Kern, Northern Lehigh High School• Medical Terminology: Brittany Miller, Northwestern Lehigh High School• Nurse Assisting: Kylee Sanchez, Northwestern Lehigh High School• Precision Machining Technology: Evan Karpyn, Northwestern Lehigh High SchoolBronze-medal winners• Automated Manufacturing Technology: Tanner Rice, Northern Lehigh High School• Industrial Motor Control: Hunter Oberle, Northern Lehigh• Welding: Brandon Bergen, Northwestern Lehigh High School