By Olivia Norton

OMAHA – A trip to Omaha, Neb. proved to be successful for the Texas A&M Meat Judging Team when they secured the American Royal Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest win on Oct. 20.

Left: Andrew Fry, Lindsey Turner, Cameron Olson, Jessie Hoffman, J Boyd Vaughan, Mallorie Phelps, Grayson Russell, Courtney Hemphill, Drew Cassens, Kate McCarthey, Leslie Frenzel.

The team clenched the overall title by earning multiple category wins. The Aggies finished first in reasons, total beef, placings, beef judging and pork judging, followed by a second place finish in lamb judging and fifth place in beef grading.

Team members include Mallorie Phelps from Grandview, Drew Cassens from Burleson, Lindsey Turner from Georgetown, Cameron Olson from Rockyview, Canada, Grayson Russell from Mount Pleasant, Andrew Fry from Dumas, Kate McCarthy from Leander, Jessie Hoffman from Kennedy, Courtney Hemphill from Lohn, all animal science majors, and J.Boyd Vaughan from Runge, agricultural economics.

Animal science graduate student Leslie Frenzel from New Berlin heads the team as coach and Dr. Davey Griffin, professor and Extension meat specialist, is the team coordinator.

This teams overall success was driven by the multiple accomplishments earned at the individual level. Phelps led the pack by bringing in fifth place individual, followed by Cassens, sixth, Vaughan, seventh, and Hoffman, eighth.

Texas A&M topped their closest competition Texas Tech University by 18 points, followed by Angelo State University,  Colorado State University and Oklahoma State University.

The Aggies are looking forward to finishing the season with a strong presence. Their next contest will be held in Friona at Cargill on Nov. 3, followed by the International Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest set for Nov. 17 at Tyson Food, Inc. in Dakota City, Neb.

-30-

 Olivia Norton is a sophomore Animal Science major from Texarkana, Texas.

For more information regarding news from the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, please contact Courtney Coufal at cacoufal@tamu.edu or (979) 845-1542.