Ag students earn National PAS honors
Thursday / March 31, 2016
Twenty-five students represented Ellsworth Community College proudly this month at the 2016 National Postsecondary Agricultural Student (PAS) Conference in Kansas City, MO. More than half of the ECC students came home with plaques after placing among the top three nationally in their respective areas of expertise.
“This was the largest group we’ve ever taken to the National PAS Conference, and it was the highest average placing ever for Ellsworth Community College,” says Kevin Butt, ECC Agriculture Professor. “The students did a great job and represented the college very well.”
National awards were garnered as follows:
In team events:
- College Bowl: ECC placed 3rd in the College Bowl, the largest and most competitive event at the national conference. Team members are Jane Hoffman of Denison, Brian Klein of Sanborn, Garrett Worthington of Newton, Gared Stockwell of Iowa Falls, and Nick Babcock of Galva.
- Equine: ECC placed 1st among the 14 teams competing. Team members are Katie Rinkert of Prole, Jane Hoffman and Kayla Knudson of Iowa Falls.
- Sheep: ECC placed 5th with team members Cole Birchmier of Story City, Sara Bergerson of St. Ansgar, and Mike Wolthuizen of Sanborn.
- Swine: ECC placed 7th with team members Heather Schnitker of Alden, Brian Klein, and Connor Rieks of Alden.
In the individual events, ECC students placed as follows:
- Equine: Jane Hoffman, 1st place; Kayla Knudson, 6th place; and Katie Rinkert, 7th place.
- Career Planning – Jason Arends, 2nd place in Power, Structural & Technical Systems; Aaron Bruihler of St. Peter, MN, 3rd place in Ag Processing & Biotechnology; Sara Bergerson, 5th place in Agribusiness Management & Marketing Systems; Heather Schnitker, 5th place in Agriculture Education; and Bobbi Sicard of Aplington, 6th place in Animal Systems/Non-Ruminant Animal.
- Career Progress – Jane Hoffman, 4th place in Agricultural Education, and John Eiklenborg of Dike, 9th place in Power, Structural & Technical Systems.
- Precision Ag: Glendon Mesch of New Providence, 2nd place; Brian Klein, 4th place; and Jason Arends of Conrad, 7th place.