Have you ever achieved something you worked hard for? If so, you know the relief that comes from hearing your name and receiving the award. The Lewis Cass Livestock Judging team experienced this a few weeks ago at the State Livestock Judging class. Mr. Plank shared the results, saying, “We placed eighth overall as a team, and finished fifth in the beef/catte category, and McCoy Taylor placed tenth overall individual.” McCoy Taylor added, “The state contest was held at Boone County fairgrounds from 9-5 on May 3.” Teams earning a top ten overall qualify for the National trip. Last year, the Kings earned a National trip to Nebraska and competed at Askarben. This year, the Kings will return to compete there once again.

Mr. Plank was asked how it feels to earn back-to-back National trips. “For my first eight years of teaching, I had really good livestock judging teams who were close to earning a National trip, and in the past three years, we have been in the top ten and earned a National trip. One of those was at Delphi, and two were at Cass. It is really nice to have the chance to work with young livestock enthusiasts from my hometown, and this is one of the reasons I wanted to come back to Cass. Kids from Walton always have a chance.” When you achieve great success in sports, colleges start to notice you, and the same happens in livestock judging. McCoy Taylor signed last week to continue his judging career in college. Mr. Plank added, “McCoy has placed in the top ten the past two years at state contests, and the coach recruited him and offered him a livestock judging scholarship back in the fall at a college visit. We have had students from Cass receive Livestock Judging scholarships in the past, but this was the first time we had a signing for a livestock judging scholarship. Last year, Kinsey Mennen received a scholarship to go to Lincoln Land Community College.”

Mr. Plank explained more about how McCoy earned a spot on a college scholarship, “It is common in the Livestock judging realm to earn a scholarship to a two-year institution; these are commonly called junior colleges. If a student is successful and shows talent in high school, then they earn the opportunity to judge in junior college. If students do well in junior college, there are some four year universities that offer livestock judging scholarships as well, and students transfer there and finish their degree. Some kids get livestock scholarships, some get academic scholarships, and some get both. In McCoy’s case, he is getting a full-ride scholarship for livestock judging and for being an agriculture major. “

McCoy Taylor was asked how it feels to move onto the next level in college and said, “I think it’s a great opportunity for me to move forward in life and onto the next level with something that I really enjoy doing.” All in all, the Kings continue on the road to success. They have practiced, worked, and achieved much success over the past two years. Good luck to McCoy on the rest of his livestock judging career. And finally, Good Luck to the Kings as they continue to prepare for their National contest this Fall.