UMC Students Take Top Honors at 2004 NACTA Competition

Students from the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) placed first in the senior division of the annual National Judging Competition of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA), held April 22-24.  UMC teams traveled to Black Hawk College’s East Campus in Kewanee, Illinois, where they earned the overall NACTA Sweepstakes Trophy among several other awards.  UMC has brought home the overall sweepstakes trophy nine times in the last ten years.

NACTA’s senior division was comprised of nearly 20 colleges and universities from across the United States.  UMC students competed directly with students from Kansas State University, Iowa State University, South Dakota State University, University of Wisconsin—Platteville, and Western Illinois University, among others.  A total of 34 two-year and four-year colleges competed in the numerous contests that were part of this year’s competition. 

The UMC NACTA group, students and faculty advisors, in Kewanee

UMC students participated in the following NACTA contests:  Crop Science, Soils, Livestock Judging, Dairy Judging, Horse Judging, Agriculture Business Management, and Quiz Bowl.  Dave Hoff, assistant professor of agricultural business, was the NACTA coordinator for UMC's teams. 

Students prepare for the NACTA judging competitions throughout the academic year, starting as early as September. They spend many hours in study and fundraising in addition to their regular class workloads.  They extend the effort because the NACTA contest is an opportunity for them to gain more professional experience in their major field of study and to build career skills.

NACTA competitions have been held since 1957 and involve knowledge and skills contests covering various agricultural topics.  The contests are competitive and involve college and university students from all across the nation.  The event is held in different areas of the country each year to give students an opportunity to travel to areas they may otherwise never visit and to offer students and faculty at different agricultural colleges the responsibility of hosting the competition.

UMC’s 2004 NACTA teams earned the following honors:

Sweepstakes Award, Senior Division - First place overall among four-year colleges and universities

Crop Science - Third Place Team
Team members:  Sara Krippner of Kimball, Peter Kvien of Roseau, Joshua Bjorneby of Grafton, ND, Patti Meyer of Warren

Agricultural Business Management  – First Place Team

Team members:  (from left) Coach Brent Sorenson, Kyle Rollness of Larimore, ND, Kyle Page of Red Lake Falls, Anna Anderson of Herman,  Erin Ring of Darwin

First Place Individual – Kyle Page
Second Place Individual – Erin Ring
Third Place Individual – Kyle Rollness

Horse Judging - Second Place Team – Horse Halter Judging; Second Place Team – Horse Overall

Team members:  (from left)  Coach Nicky Overgaard, Cathryn Moe of Springfield, Sandi Sheridan (alternate) of International Falls, Ashley Norman (alternate) of Tofte, Crystal Gerszewski of Fisher, Jessica Sathoff of Dunnell, Rhonda Vielbig of Blaine,

Dairy Judging

Team members:  (from left) Coach Lyle Westrom, Jonathan Gorentz of Dent, Brent Arndt of Lakefield, Mike Hendrickx of New York Mills, Nathan Spatz of Lebanon, PA

Second Place Team – Dairy Judging Ayshire

            First Place Individual – Mike Hendrickx

First Place Team – Dairy Brown Swiss

            First Place Individual – Mike Hendrickx
            Second Place Individual – Nate Spatz
            Third Place Individual – Jon Gorentz

Second Place Team – Dairy Holstein

             Second Place Individual – Mike Hendrickx

First Place Team – Dairy Judging Jersey

             First Place Individual – Mike Hendrickx

Third Place Team – Dairy Shorthorns

First Place Team – Dairy Reasons

            First Place Individual – Mike Hendrickx

Third Place Team – Overall Dairy

            First Place Individual – Mike Hendrickx

Quiz Bowl - Third  Place Team
Team Members:  Kyle Rollness, Peter Kvien, Sara Krippner, Mike Hendrickx, Jessica Sathoff

The following UMC teams also competed:

Soils
Team members:  Jennifer Novak, Adam Schiller, Lloyd Stephens, Alison Stone

Livestock Judging
Team members:  Karen Ballou of Barnum, Jennifer Goeller of Morris, Joshua Johnson of Hoffman, Brian Shaw of Ulen

For more information about this year’s NACTA competition, go to <www.bhc.edu/EastCampus/nacta>.

 

Posted  04/30/2004
Contact: Andrew Svec, 218-281-8435

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