Two Linganore teams advance to National FFA competitions
Three Linganore Teams participated in the Maryland FFA Spring Competition on April 2, 2016.
April 20, 2016
Three teams participated in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Spring Judging competition on Saturday, April 2. Linganore placed second in the Nursery and Landscape and Food Science events and third in Milk Quality.
“Linganore was well respresented at the Career Development events,” said agriculture teacher Patricia Beachy. “Mr. Hawthorne and I are very proud of our students. Overall, we placed in the top 10%, which shows all of the hard work the students put in.”
Seniors Kasey Carns, Sara Combs, Alyssa Mattison, and Kaycee Oland participated in the Nursery and Landscape event.
In this event, FFA members are expected to identify a total of 100 plants, plant diseases, and nursery tools, complete a multiple choice question test on nursery education, answer a short-response math skill test, and perform a team activity.
Of nine teams, Linganore placed second with a score of 810. Of 24 total participants, Combs placed second; Oland placed 7th; Mattison placed 9th; and Carns placed 16th.
“I was proud that our team was able to place second. Our studying really paid off,” said Combs.
Seniors Megan Brown, Morgan Brown, junior Sean Adams, and sophomore Jordan Cencula participated in the Food Science and Technology event.
Participants in this event are expected to use skills such as leadership, problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of food product and development in order to be successful.
Of 13 teams, Linganore scored 905 and earned second place, only two points behind first. Of 40 participants, Megan Brown placed 13th; Morgan Brown placed 14th; Cencula placed 10th; and Adams placed 4th.
The third team to participate in the FFA Spring Judging competition are seniors Ashley Abuelhawa and Sabrina Moxley, and juniors Matthew Chaney, and Rayann Eaves. They participated in the Milk Quality and Products event.
“I’ve learned a lot about the different agriculture career opportunities,” said Moxley. “This was my first time competing in the Milk Quality competition, so it was a little more challenging than the other competitions I compete in.”
In this event, participants identify and classify multiple dairy products (both individually and as a team), answer multiple choice question tests, and complete a problem-solving test.
Of 17 teams, Linganore tied for second with 1138 points, but ultimately came in third. Of 54 individual competitors, Abuelhawa placed 4th; Eaves placed 12th; Moxley placed 13th; and Chaney placed 21st.
Teams who placed first will be advancing to the national competition held in Louisville, Kentucky. Teams who placed second will be advancing to the Big E national competition held in Springfield, Massachusetts in September.
Last year, two teams from Linganore advanced to National competitions. Floriculture placed second in the state competitions and continued to Massachusetts and placed second. The Livestock Evaluation team placed first in the state competition and advanced to the National competition in Kentucky where they placed sixth.
