Shania Clifford will compete on a national stage after all. The 2017 MCAA Convention at the World of Concrete and World of Masonry will take place on Jan. 18. The competition begins with a masonry skills competition in which contestants, who already have won regional contests, are divided into three classes based on experience.

Shania Clifford will compete on a national stage after all.

Despite placing first in the SkillsUSA Ohio Masonry competition, which should have guaranteed her a spot in the national leadership and skills conference, the 17-year-old from Scioto County was later told she took third because of a problem with the score sheets.

Clifford had won a gold medal in the SkillsUSA Ohio masonry competition in late April. But in mid-May, Clifford found out she would not be attending the next level of the competition, a national leadership and skills conference to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 20-24.

The student who originally placed third was told he would go instead to the national conference. Organizers then informed the superintendent at Clifford's school that she wasn't going. Clifford found out via Facebook.

Since the story ran in Sunday's Dispatch,many have responded. The story, which has been read more than 300,000 times online, led to the Mason Contractors Association of America to step in and offer Clifford the opportunity to compete in its national convention next year. Clifford said she plans to attend.

"I figured it'd be a great opportunity to right a wrong," said Tim O'Toole, association spokesman.

She has received an outpouring of support on Facebook and on Dispatch.com and has even received a job offer. An online petition had garnered more than 800 supporters as of Tuesday afternoon.

Clifford called the response "overwhelming," adding that she is excited to have so many supporters.

The state-level SkillsUSA masonry competition was held April 26-27 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center along with 63 other competitions in the skilled and technical sciences category.

Judges in the masonry program, a field usually dominated by men, originally awarded Clifford first place by a whopping 72 points.

Later, Stan Jennings, superintendent of the Scioto County Career Technical Center, was notified by SkillsUSA Ohio that Clifford was not moving up in the competition. A vague explanation was given: "The scores were inappropriately put in." Mike Cowles, director of SkillsUSA Ohio, has not returned calls seeking comment.

The Mason Contractors Association of America Convention at the World of Concrete and World of Masonry will take place Jan. 18. The convention includes a masonry skills competition that Clifford now is already entered in. The registration cost of $250 will be waived, O'Toole said. Travel costs will be picked up by the Scioto County Career Technical Center, said Larry Moore, Clifford's instructor there.

Moore said he's still waiting to hear from SkillsUSA Ohio.

"That's been the whole conflict," he said. "It's just like they shut us down. It's like they're trying to hide something."

@KaitFochesato