Penn State Collegiate Livestock Judging - Summary of the Year's Accomplishments
by Nichole Fogleman
The 2007 Penn State Livestock Judging Team had a very successful spring semester throughout the various competitions that they attended. The team traveled to Denver Colorado for the second year in a row in order to compete in the 101st Annual National Western Stock Show Livestock Judging Contest. This competition consisted of two contests, livestock judging and a cattle carload contest. Team members that competed were Nichole Fogleman, Kyle Grim, Travis Hahn, Russell Larson, Deborah McAllister, and Amber Shollenberger. At the contest Kyle Grim placed 9th in placings in cattle and tied for 7th in cattle overall. Furthermore the team was 7th in cattle placing making them 5th overall with reasons combined.
Later in the spring, the judging team competed in the three-day All East Livestock Evaluation and Judging Contest held at Western Kentucky University on April 19th-21st. The team members that competed consisted of Rachel Bardell, Nichole Fogleman, Kyle Grim, Russell Larson, and Amber Shollenberger. The All- East contest had a total of 10 prestigious Universities that came from various institutions across the East Coast. In the Evaluation Contest, the team finished 3rd overall in swine, 4th overall in sheep, and 3rd overall in the entire contest with all species and reasons combined. Russell Larson was 5th in swine and Kyle Grim was 5th in beef evaluation and 11th overall in the evaluation contest. In the Selection contest held the next day the team finished 5th in Beef, 5th in Sheep, and 5th overall. Kyle Grim finished 4th in questions and tied for 5th in sheep. On the third day, the team finished 4th in swine and 5th in reasons. Russell Larson and Kyle Grim finished 4th and 8th in beef. The team was 5th overall in the three day combined contest, with Kyle Grim finishing 13th overall out of a total of 65 contestants.
In the fall semester the 2007 Livestock Judging Team continued their success throughout the various contests that they attended. Overall all they won one contest and had two of their fellow team members win High Individual awards in 2 of the 5 contests they competed in. Team members were as follows: Nichole Fogleman, Kyle Grim, Russell Larson, Deborah McAllister, and Amber Shollenberger.
At the Eastern National Livestock Judging Contest, Debbie McAllister had an outstanding day earning High Individual in cattle, 2nd overall in reasons as well as in swine, and 3rd overall in sheep on her way to winning High Individual overall in the contest. Debbie's win and accomplishments marked the third year in a row that a Penn State member has won High Individual award at this particular contest.
The team then went on to have another successful win at K.I.L.E. for the second year in a row. The team competed against teams from the University of Illinois, Ohio State University, University of Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University, and West Virginia University. Penn State was the High Team in beef cattle for the 3rd consecutive year at K.I.L.E. They were also High Team in sheep and the second team in swine and reasons.
The team had an especially consistent day as each member excelled in multiple categories contributing to their successful day. Nichole Fogleman had a great day as she won High individual overall in the contest. She was also 4th in cattle and reasons, 7th swine, and 5th in sheep. Amber Shollenberger also had a very good day finishing 2nd overall, 5th in cattle, 10th in swine, and 4th in sheep. Debbie McAllister finished a solid 5th overall, 8th in cattle, 2nd in swine, and 7th in reasons. Kyle Grim was 10th overall and 6th in cattle. Russell Larson won high individual in sheep and was 6th overall in reasons.
The team then turned in another strong performance at the Stockman's Contest held in Frankfort, Indiana. They took part in a mock contest at Purdue University on Friday and then competed in the Stockman's Contest held on Saturday. This contest awards individuals only, with no team awards. However as a team they managed to stack up very well against their competition. Nichole Fogleman was 7th in cattle, 10th in swine and 9th overall. Debbie McAllister was 4th in swine.
The team then competed at the American Royal Contest in Kansas City, MO and the North American International Livestock Expo, which is the national contest, held in Louisville, KY. The American Royal had 23 teams and 115 contestants and the National Contest had 26 teams and 130 individuals. Both contests were highly competitive. The Penn State team finished a respectable 12th in swine at both contests. At the Royal, Nichole was the high member on the team with Russell and Debbie in the top 25 in sheep and swine respectively. At the National Contest Amber was the high Penn State member. Debbie, Amber, and Nichole finished in the top 25 percent in swine reasons, cattle, and cattle reasons respectively.
