By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  ---  The frantic call from Missouri came at approximately 10:45 p.m., Friday, June 27.

Relaxing at her Pawtucket home, Ana De Los Santos picked up to her her daughter, Margarita Luna, gushing from a cellphone nine states and at least 1,300 miles away.
“Mom, I won!” she exclaimed. “I actually won!”
“Mama” immediately knew what had occurred.
Luna, still three months shy of her 18th birthday and a recent graduate of Davies Jr. Career & Technical High School, had snagged the goal medal in the first aid/CPR category at the 44th annual SkillsUSA National Championships, held in Kansas City between July 24-27.
“I was laughing and screaming, I was so happy,” De Los Santos said Thursday. “I wasn’t surprised. I told her before she left, ‘Believe in yourself. You can do this.’”
According to Gerry Suggs, the veteran coordinator of the 18-strong Davies/SkillsUSA contingent, Luna became the second national gold medalist from the Jenckes Hill Road school in the last three years, but only the third since 1989.
To be fair, fellow graduate and Pawtucketer Dayna Restrepo captured bronze in the action skills competition. Both received their well-earned hardware at a ceremony at Kemper Arena. Those were the 13th and 14th SkillsUSA national medals achieved by Patriots’ students since the school’s inception in 1971.
“I still can’t believe it; I’m a national champion,” offered Luna, who will attend Rhode Island College come September to chase her dream of becoming a doctor. “I can actually say I’m the best in that particular category of anyone who competed.
“When I went last year, I was a finalist, finishing ninth in first aid/CPR,” she added. “I just wanted to do better than I did (then). I didn’t want to leave Kansas City with a ninth or worse. I mean, everyone’s goal is to get the gold. So was mine. But for it to come true, now that’s a thrill.”
In her event, judges evaluated 47 contestants’ abilities to perform procedures or take appropriate action of six first aid/CPR scenarios. Among them: CPR on an infant, child and adult; a first-aid emergency; and another involving a conscious choking person in a restaurant.
The most difficult, Luna admitted, came in the delivery and demonstration of the first-aid emergency, though they were all lessons learned in her health careers classes, taught by Michelle DeSerres.
“(Judges) told me my mom was outside in the heat, and that she had fallen, hitting her head,” she explained. “I had to first check the scene for safety, then had to get the (live patient) to a cooler place. I offered her a cold drink, then asked her what hurt, and performed the necessary first-aid procedures, like checking for heat stroke and shock.
“Of all the competitors I spoke with from all over the country — there were about 20 — they were all lifeguards, EMTs or firefighters,” she continued. “I was the only CNA (certified nursing assistant).”
Luna -- still at the “tender” age of 17 — will pursue pre-med courses at RIC.
“When I was starting at Davies as a freshman, I knew I wanted to be a doctor,” she said. “Actually, I’ve known forever. I just have a passion for medicine and helping people. It’s a field that’s always changing. You’re always learning something new.”
As for Restrepo, her journey to the bronze came in a vastly different manner. She took the silver at the state finals, and only earned a trip to nationals because the gold medalist from Cranston couldn’t attend due to a scheduled surgery.
During the preliminary competition in the “Action Skills” category, Restrepo had five to seven minutes to perform CPR on a child.
“I had to give an introduction to four judges, then the physical demonstration while explaining what I was doing, and then a conclusion,” she said. “They judged my on eye contact, clarity of speaking voice, organization of the presentation and skill level of procedure. During the prelims, I got nervous, and I think I went about 30 seconds without talking at all.”
Like Luna, she stressed out afterward, but finished ninth following the first phase. The top 10 moved ahead to the finals.
“I’m happy, but I’m not,” said Restrepo, who in three weeks will begin Rhode Island Air National Guard boot camp in Fort Hood, Texas. “I wanted the gold. I should be satisfied by the fact I didn’t come home empty-handed, but the gold would have meant a lot more.”