For those that have taken an agriculture class, you probably remember the soils contest. Well, a vast majority of you that took part in the contest probably hated it. I don’t like this contest either, but it lets me go on field trips and hang out with my friends. so I do the contest just for those reasons. On the first of October, five teams of four from Lewis Cass went to the area 8 soil judging contest. Now, let’s see how they did. 

First, the first team placed second in the national qualifier division. This team, known as the ‘Sandy Gobblers’,was made up of Kade Mennen, Kyla Mennen, Tristin Miller, and David Woolever. This is an all-new division for this year’s contest due to last year’s national contest being canceled. The Gobblers got a score of 1275. A score of 1275 is a great score, but it’s subpar for the Gobblers due to their regular dominance. This team is the only team from Lewis Cass to ever qualify for the national contest, and I’m glad they will get a chance to go to the contest this year. 

Next, The second and third teams were both in the senior division. The second team, known as the Bedrocks, consisted of LJ Hillis, Kyle Henry, Cole McCloskey, and Keenan Appleton scored 1171 points. This second team took third place in the contest and will be competing in the state contest on the 17th of October. The third term consists of Luke Chambers, Lexi Freeman, Kinsey Mennen, and Erick Hardy had a score of 1069. These teams performed exceptionally well at the contest. There is a strong chance that the second team will be able to compete for a national contest berth. The Bedrocks are a young team consisting of 2 sophomores, one freshman, and one junior, so even if they don’t make it to nationals now, they will have more chances in the future. I wish this team the best of luck at the state contest. 

Finally, let’s go over why people do the soils competition. It may seem like a boring contest for most people, and that’s because it is a boring competition. When the competition starts, everyone walks to their first pit, judges the pit, answers the questions, and then usually people wait around for the final five to ten minutes of the pit. The reason that most people do this contest is to get out of school and get some fast food. These are the main reasons that I do the contest just like many others, but I realized that if I can make it to nationals I’ll get out of a week of school and get a free trip to Oklahoma. 

In conclusion, the Lewis Cass soils teams did great at the recent contest. They have a strong chance of making the national contest. If you’re in an agriculture class, I would recommend taking part in this contest if for no other reason than to get out of school.