BUCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- “It just turned into something way more than just fun,” said Jacob Palmore, a student who is part of the state championship team.

A group of students from Buckingham County Technical Education Center recently won a state title at SkillsUSA State Championship in Welding Fabrication.

These students started taking welding for fun and stepped up to the plate to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It was just like I’m looking for a fabrication team for the competition, and we were like ‘Well, we’re three students in your Welding 3 class, and we can definitely do that,'” said Brandon Johnson, a student who is part of the state championship team.

This is a tough competition, as the students were given a random blueprint and had to weld their creation together in a little under five hours.

They were judged on skill, accuracy, and time management while trying to create an impressive product.

“Brandon and Javon, they're really good at reading blueprints. I think I specialize in welding, you know, I’m pretty good at the process of welding. And basically, we just picked the blueprint apart,” added Palmore. 

And this team proved that the third time's the charm, after placing second the past two years.

The team members added that it’s not about the medal, but something they can use in the future.

"And obviously, when you win at states, it looks really good to most industries like 'Dang, they're good enough to win a competition, they're good enough to work for us,'" said Johnson.

The team will be competing at Nationals next month in Atlanta, where they hope to make Virginia proud.