The Blanco FFA recently competed at the Tarleton State University Invitational Career Development Events in Stephenville this past week. Overall, there were 469 schools and more than 9,000 contestants competing at this year’s event, making it the largest youth competitive event in the world.
In the overall ranking for sweepstakes, which takes into account the individual success of each school’s contestants, Blanco placed 3rd overall behind Stephenville and James Madison. Of the 45 FFA members Blanco had competing, all placed in the top 20% of their respective events to gain points towards sweepstakes.
Leading the way for Blanco was the Homesite team which placed 1st overall. Savannah Kershaw placed 1st overall individually, with Dru Ramirez placing 4th, Jamie McClinton 6th, and Taylor Guinn 12th. Robbie Arlitt also competed in this event. As a result of their success, Blanco was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.
The Land team also did well, placing 2nd overall, with Phillip Alvarado ranking 13th.. Other team members gaining points towards sweepstakes included Kenny Omo, Carlin Green, Devlin Moore, and James McFarlin.
Blanco’s Entomology team placed high, finishing 3rd. Rance Dollahite placed the highest, ranking 8th, while Megan Wier and Deanna Sevilla placed 11th and 17th respectively. Other members doing well included Cheyenne Klein, Ian Kirkland, Joaquin Olmeda, Connor Anderson, Jessica Sevilla, and Sara Jean Martinez.
Blanco FFA members on the Livestock team also did very well, placing 6th overall. Logan Dodd led the way, finishing 9th as an individual, while Kari Graham, Garrett Seales, Ryan Edwards, and Payton Savarino all picked up points towards sweepstakes by finishing in the top 20%. Other members doing well included Jacob Robinson, Brenna Wallace, Molly Edmondson, and Maggie Reininger. This proved to be the largest event with over 400 teams and almost 1,500 contestants.
The local Range team of Alley Penshorn, Kristen Bowman, Katherine Biggs, Dylan Bates, and Mason LeBlanc also placed high, finishing 7th as a team, with Alley placing 10th and each of the other four gaining points individually for their efforts.
The Environmental Natural Resources contest also saw Blanco do well, tying for 10th overall, with Kyle Sauceda placing 6th and Nicole Spivey 33rd individually.
Finally, Blanco also competed in Dairy Cattle and Milk Quality. Those judging in the dairy cattle event included Kyle Gray, Colton Elrod, Sebastian Thomas, Kendall Hartmann, and Kameron Martinez. In milk quality, Victoria Jeske, Alexis Liesman, Maryn McMain, Abbie Culton, and Amanda Guthrie represented the local FFA chapter.
These same teams will continue preparations and training for additional upcoming invitational events, as well as area competitions and state contests across the state at Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Tarleton. Advisors for the Blanco FFA are Felice and Jason Marek and Texas State student teacher Tory Tierney.
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