AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University student teams won the overall sweepstakes award among four-year institutions at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Judging Conference April 14-16.
The Sweepstakes Award was presented for the Iowa State teams’ good showing in 10 agricultural subject matter contests at the conference, which was hosted by University of Minnesota Crookston. There were 570 contestants at the conference competing on 27 teams from four-year schools and 12 from two-year schools.
Teams competing in several agricultural categories were judged as a group and individual team members were ranked as well. The ISU Ag Knowledge Bowl team won first place for the sixth year in a row. Teams ranked first in agribusiness, ag computers, ag sales, crop and horticulture. The Soil Judging Team ranked fifth.
The ISU teams’ in each contest category, the members by name, major and hometown included:
Overall Sweepstakes
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Ag Business
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Kyle Bates – Fourth Place Individual - ag business, agronomy and seed science junior, Rockton, Illinois
Izak Christensen – First Place Individual - ag business and agronomy sophomore, Osage, Iowa
Eric Coddington – Second Place Individual - agronomy junior, Montello, Wisconsin
Trevin Kennedy – Third Place Individual - ag business junior, Walnut, Illinois
Ag Computers
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Kyle Bates – Third Place Individual - ag business, agronomy and seed science junior, Rockton, Illinois
Izak Christensen – First Place Individual - ag business and agronomy sophomore, Osage, Iowa
Casey Engen – Second Place Individual - agronomy junior, Lamberton, Minnesota
Trevin Kennedy – Fourth Place Individual - ag business junior, Walnut, Illinois
Ag Knowledge Bowl
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Nate Christenson – ag business, agronomy and economics junior, Granger, Iowa
Eric Coddington - First Place Ag Equipment Portion – ag business junior, Montello, Wisconsin
Geordan Hanson – First Place Ag Lending Poretion - ag business junior, Elgin, Iowa
Ag Sales
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Nate Christenson, First Place, Ag Inputs Portion – ag business, agronomy and economics junior, Granger, Iowa
Nick Upah – agronomy senior, Kelly, Iowa
Landon Van Dyke – agronomy junior, Pella, Iowa
Crops
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Nate Christenson – Second Place Individual - ag business, agronomy and economics junior from Granger, Iowa
Geordan Hanson – Third Place Individual - ag business junior, Elgin, Iowa
Tim Riessen - Sixth Place Individual - agronomy junior, Schleswig, Iowa
Hillary Holmes – 11th Place Individual - music education senior, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Nick Upah - Seventh Place Individual - agronomy senior, Kelly, Iowa
Landon Van Dyke – 12th Place Individual - agronomy junior, Pella, Iowa
Logan Koester – 14th Place Individual - agronomy junior, Gladbrook, Iowa
Derrick Hoodjer – agronomy sophomore, Prairie City, Iowa
Ashlyn Kessler – agronomy junior, Walcott, Iowa
Lauren Schwarck – agronomy sophomore, Spencer, Iowa
Horticulture
First Place Team – Four-year Division
Lucas Roberts – First Place Individual – agronomy and genetics junior, Trivoli, Illinois
Katharina Wigg – Fifth Place Individual – agronomy senior, Schleswig, Iowa
Marcus Jansen – Sixth Place Individual – horticulture sophomore, Quincy, Illinois
Brooke Jerie – Eighth Place Individual – horticulture sophomore, Rockford, Illinois
Skyler Brazel – Seventh Place Individual - horticulture and global resource systems sophomore, Princeville, Illinois
Kole Witte – 11th Place Individual - horticulture junior, Manly, Iowa
Lindsay Meylor – 12th Place Individual – horticulture junior, Le Mars, Iowa
Paige Peterson – 13th Place Individual - horticulture sophomore, New Douglas, Illinois
Soil Judging Team
Fifth Place Team – Four-year Division
Danielle Pauli - agronomy and seed science sophomore, Carroll, Iowa
Shelby Duncan – agronomy junior, Winterset, Iowa
Eric Engh – agronomy sophomore, Clarion, Iowa
Brendan Juarez – agronomy sophomore, Glenwood, Iowa
Hannah Corey – agronomy and environmental science freshman, Lake City, Iowa
Jason Eischeid – ag studies junior, Carroll, Iowa
Jake Ziggafoos – agronomy senior, Eldora, Iowa
Becca Clay – agronomy and global resource systems, Le Mars, Iowa
Coaches for the teams included Erik Christian, agronomy lecturer; Eric Coddington, agronomy junior from Montello, Wisconsin; Georgeanne Artz, assistant professor of economics; Brandon Miller, horticulture graduate student; Sam Groenenboom, agronomy graduate student from Oskaloosa, Iowa; Matthew Duesterhaus, agronomy senior from Mendon, Illinois; Lucas Roberts, agronomy and genetics junior from Trivoli, Illinois; Heidi Dittmer, soil science graduate student from Lacona, Iowa; Casey Engen,agronomy junior, Lamberton, Minnesota; and Tyler Groh, environmental science graduate student from Jackson, Wisconsin.
NACTA is a professional society founded in 1955. Members include public and private post-secondary schools, with divisions for two- and four-year institutions.