January Competitive Teams Updates
January 30th, 2023
The busy competitive teams season is here. Our teams have been on the road competing and hosting clinics. Congratulations to our teams on a great start to the spring 2023 judging season.
Academic Quadrathlon Team
The Texas A&M University Academic Quadrathlon Team secured first place at the 2023 Regional American Society of Animal Science Academic Quadrathlon Contest. The contest was hosted by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC from January 20-22, 2023, and 13 teams from animal science programs in the southern US competed in the event. The team will represent the Southern Section at the National ASAS contest in New Mexico in July 2023.
This is the third consecutive year Texas A&M has secured the first position and qualified for the national contest. The 2023 team consists of Avery Flanagan, Grace Parks, Emily Ecord, and Abigail Borden, and Dr. Sushil Paudyal serves as a liaison for the team. Congratulations, team, and good luck at nationals.
Read the full story on AgriLife Today here.
Horse Judging Team Clinic
Texas A&M University Horse Judging coach Sarah Schobert and retired team members and coaches traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, to host a horse judging clinic on January 20, 2023. More than 200 attendees with different skill level sections participated in the weekend clinic that was held at Hamilton Southeastern, HSE, High School. Attendees represented six states, coming from Wyoming, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana.
Clinicians included 2021 team member and senior, Madison Strief; 2022 team member and senior, Megan Miller; assistant coach Hannah McLochlin and coach Sarah Schobert. The team thanks HSE high school and ag teacher, Thomas Younts, for hosting the clinic. Also, thanks to Tim McLochlin for helping behind the scenes to coordinate and execute this event.
Livestock Judging Team
Read about the National Western Stock Show results here.
Cattlemen’s Congress
The Livestock Judging Team competed at the Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on January 10, 2023.
Team Results
- 3rd Overall
- 2nd Cattle
- 3rd Swine
- 6th Sheep/Goats
Individual Results
- Will Spicer – 9th overall, 5th cattle
- Mikala Grady – 3rd Swine
- Saige Ward – 7th Swine
- Abby Johnson – 7th cattle, 10th reasons
- Keaton Woods – 8th Swine
Sioux Falls
The team battled snow, negative temperatures and bad roads, but are bringing home a win from Sioux Falls. The Livestock Judging team competed in the Sioux Empire Livestock Show on January 29, 2023.
Team Results
- 1st and 3rd overall
- 1st and 3rd reasons
- 1st and 3rd sheep/goats
- 1st and 5th cattle
- 3rd and 5th hogs
Individual Results
- John Reaves – 1st overall, 3rd reasons, 3rd sheep/goats, 5th cattle
- Abby Johnson – 2nd overall, 1st reasons, 3rd swine, 4th cattle
- Kevin Jendrusch – 5th sheep/goats
Meat Judging Team
Read about the National Western Stock Show results here.
Southwestern Meat Judging Contest
The 2023 Fightin’ Texas Aggie Meat Judging Team was named champion team at the Southwestern Meat Judging Contest in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 29, 2023. A special thanks to AMSA for coordinating this contest and Columbia Packing for hosting the contest at their Ennis plant. Also a big thanks to Tyson, Cargill, Texas Tech, and West Texas A&M for giving our students great opportunities to practice on the way.
We had 4 in the Top 10 Individuals and 4 in the Top 10 Alternates.
Team Results
- 1st Total Beef
- 2nd Specs
- 3rd Total Placing
- 1st Beef Grading
- 3rd Lamb Judging
- 2nd Beef Judging
- 3rd Pork Judging
- 3rd Reasons
Individual Results
- Zach Hoelscher- 1st Overall, 1st Specs, 2nd Beef Grading
- Kaitlyn Kotrla- 6th Overall, 1st Beef Grading, 1st Total Beef, 5th Lamb Judging
- Kadie Graves- 7th High Overall, 4th Placings, 2nd Beef Judging
- Shane Molitor-9th Overall, 1st Pork Judging, 5th Specs
Top 10 Alternates
- Brittley Bowers – 2nd High Point Individual
- Kayce Lopez – 6th High Individual
- Elise Stovall – 7th High Individual
- Patrick Kessler – 8th High Individual
Other team members include Emily Mutchler, Casey Murphy, Maycee Foussadier, Channing Pieniazek, Karlie Lowe(280 in beef grading), and Cody Sells. The team is coached by Trent Stolowski, assistant coach Lauren Lee, and coordinated by Jennifer Wyle. The next competition will be at the South Plains Meat Judging Contest in Hereford, Texas.
Ranch Horse Teams Honors Longtime Donor
The Texas A&M University Ranch Horse team hosted a riding and networking event for its members in honor of longtime supporters, Becky and Joe ’73 Horlen. The event on Saturday, January 28 was intended to bring the team, supporters, and friends together for networking and fellowship. This was a great chance for the newer team members to meet the Horlens and get to know each other.
Joe Horlen ’73, J.D., was recently honored by the Texas A&M Foundation as the latest recipient of the prestigious Partner in Philanthropy Award. According to the Foundation, the Partner in Philanthropy Award “honors Aggie faculty and staff who provide dedicated and lasting participation, commitment, and creative leadership to philanthropy and Texas A&M.” See more about this honor here. The Horlens have been longtime supporters of the Texas A&M Ranch Horse Team, and started the Becky and Joe Horlen ’73 Ranch Horse Team Endowed Support Fund that will assist the team to travel and compete while representing Texas A&M University. The team and the department of animal science thanks the Horlens for their dedicated support. If you would like to contribute to the ranch horse team endowment, please contact Jansen Merrill with the Texas A&M Foundation at 979-845-7594.
Wool Judging Team
Read the National Western Stock Show results here.
7220 Contest
The Wool Judging Team competed in early January at the 7220 contest in Laramie, Wyoming.
Team Results
- 1st and 3rd overall
- 1st and 3rd placings
- 1st and 3rd reasons
Individual Results
- Kodi Davis-2nd
- Connor Pence-3rd
- Charlee Proctor-4th
- Garrett Kern-8th
- Kyla Beck-10th
Black Hills Stock Show
The team wrapped up competition in January at the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City, South Dakota, on January 31.
Team Results
- 1st and 2nd overall
Individual Results
- Charlee Proctor-3rd
- Kodi Davis-4th
- Carson Carter-5th
- Kyla Beck-6th
- Ally Brooks-7th
- Connor Pence-8th
- Garrett Kern-9th
- Nathan Kerth-12th
- Landon Southern-14th (alternate)
Grading
- Ally Brooks-3rd
- Charlee Proctor-5th
- Kodi Davis-6th
- Garrett Kern-7th
- Carson Carter-9th
Reasons
- Kyla Beck-1st
- Kodi Davis-2nd
- Connor Pence-3rd
- Carson Carter-5th
- Landon Southern-6th
- Nathan Kerth-7th
- Charlee Proctor-9th
Placings
- Kyla Beck-1st
- Charlee Proctor-4th
- Nathan Kerth-5th
- Carson Carter-6th
- Connor Pence-9th
