Monday, May 4, 2015

Multi-State Skillathon Winners

Youth from several states took home awards from the Junior Sheep & Goat Skillathon held recently at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

The first place senior was Matt Ferrari from Virginia. Maggie Goodmuth from Howard County was second. Charlie Sasscer from St. Mary's County was 3rd. The first place senior team was the Montgomery-Howard team, composed of Maggie Goodmuth, Lauren Dallas, and Jennifer Brigantae. The second place team was a team from  Virginia.

Top individuals (L-R):  Matt Ferrari, Hannah King, and Jessica Martin
The first place intermediate was Hannah King from North Carolina. Kallam Latham from Frederick County placed second. Madison Shaw from Pennsyvlania was 3rd. The first place intermediate team was the Virginia team composed of Ryleian Travers, Hayley Seabright, Cyle Dehaven, and Chet Boden. Frederick County had the second place intermediate team.

The first place junior was Jessica Martin from Frederick County. Jordan Kelly from Virginia placed 2nd and Marlie Snyder from Washington County placed 3rd. The first place junior team was the Frederick County team, composed of Jessica Martin, Kiandra Strickhouser, and Caroline Clark. Calvert/St. Mary's County had the second place junior team.

Special awards were given to the junior, intermediate, and senior individuals with the top scores in the stations pertaining to fiber. The junior individual with the top fiber score was Jordan Kelly. The intermediate with the top fiber score was Hannah King. Madison Shaw was a close second. The senior individual with the top fiber score was Jennifer Brigantae from Howard County. In close competition were Ian Sanville from Frederick County and Sabrina Dobbins from St. Mary's County.

Fiber winners (L-R): Jordan Kelly, Jennifer Brigantae, and Hannah King
The Maryland Sheep Breeders Association provided ribbons and premiums to the top 10 individuals in each age group. They provided Festival t-shirts to members of the three top-placing teams in each age division. The University of Maryland Small Ruminant Extension Program provided plaques to the top individuals.

This year's Sheep & Goat Skillathon included the following stations:  sheep breed ID, goat breed ID, hay judging, meat ID, feed ID, equipment ID, fleece judging, fiber ID, keep-cull, and a written test.

The Junior Sheep & Goat Skillathon is held every year on the Sunday of the Festival. The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is always held the first full weekend of May.

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