Pennsylvania took the top honors in the 100th National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest at World Dairy Expo®. The Pennsylvania team members Ellie Curtis, Sara Haag, Madelynn Hoffman and Morgan Smoker were coached by Chad Dechow. The second-overall team, by a margin of 44 points, was the Michigan team of Grace Brown, Laken Durussel, Brianna Hill and Irie Moussiaux coached by Joe Domecq, Sarah Black, and Kirby Krogstad. Minnesota, Iowa, and Texas followed to round out the top five teams.
Teams and individuals receiving recognition include:
Top Ten Teams – Overall:
- Pennsylvania, 1,994, team members: Ellie Curtis, Sara Haag, Madelynn Hoffman and Morgan Smoker, coached by Chad Dechow
- Michigan, 1,950, team members: Grace Brown, Laken Durussel, Brianna Hill and Irie Moussiaux, coached by Sarah Black, Joe Domecq and Kirby Krogstad
- Minnesota, 1,944, team members: Dan Frericks, Megan Ratka, Tyler Ratka and Lanna Walter, coached by Sadie Frericks, Tara Meyer and Kevin Ratka
- Iowa, 1,910, team members: Alia Domeyer, Lane Domeyer, Bianka Ronnebaum and Haley Ronnebaum, coached by Jeannie Domeyer and Kaleb Kruse
- Texas, 1,900, team members: Carmen Kuiper, Tom Kuiper, Kaleb Osinga and Makayla Osinga, coached by Heather Jones
- Missouri, 1,883, team members: Payton Nix, Lila Wantland and Whitney Yerina, coached by Karla Deaver and Ted Probert
- Tennessee, 1,868, team members: Laurel Cox, Alyson Metcalf, Molly Ralston and Katie Threet, coached by Sean Giffin and Mike Swafford
- North Carolina, 1,861, team members: Joseph Coltrane, Lemuel Coltrane, Laurel Gray and Hannah Loftin, coached by Brittany Heizer and Shelley Sharpe
- Wisconsin, 1,859, team members: Brady Dorshorst, Ava Hebgen, Rebecca Murphy and Paige Sweatt, coached by Craig Carncross and Nicki Hebgen
- Ohio, 1,851, team members: Blake Greiwe, Elizabeth Howman, Paige Smith and Colby Turon, coached by Sherry Smith
Top Ten Individuals – Overall:
- Sara Haag, 671, Pennsylvania
- Madelynn Hoffman, 666, Pennsylvania
- Brianna Hill, 662, Michigan
- Tyler Ratka, 659, Minnesota
- Laurel Gray, 658, North Carolina
- Morgan Smoker, 657, Pennsylvania
- Megan Ratka, 651, Minnesota
- Grace Brown, 650, Michigan
- Morgan Stone, 649, Indiana
- Tom Kuiper, 645, Texas
Top Ten Teams – Reasons:
- Minnesota, 638, coached by Sadie Freicks, Kevin Ratka and Tara Meyer
- Pennsylvania, 632, coached by Chad Dechow
- Michigan, 625, coached by Joe Domecq, Sarah Black and Kirby Krogstad
- Texas, 617, coached by Heather Jones
- Iowa, 616, coached by Jeannie Domeyer and Kaleb Kruse
- Indiana, 610, coached by Liz Kelsay
- Missouri, 602, coached by Karla Deaver and Ted Probert
- Wisconsin, 602, coached by Craig Carncross and Nicki Hebgen
- Ohio, 598, coached by Sherry Smith
- Kentucky, 597, coached by Larissa Tucker and Lannie Willen
Top Ten Individuals – Reasons:
- Megan Ratka, 225, Minnesota
- Tom Kuiper, 217, Texas
- Brianna Hill, 216, Michigan
- Sara Haag, 215, Pennsylvania
- Madelynn Hoffman, 215, Pennsylvania
- Tyler Ratka, 213, Minnesota
- Morgan Stone, 213, Indiana
- Laken Durussel, 211, Michigan
- Amelia Stone, 211, Indiana
- Ava Hebgen, 210, Wisconsin
The National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest is made possible in part through generous support of Platinum Sponsor: Channel Seed, Gold Sponsor: ST genetics, and Silver Sponsor: Bio-Vet, Inc. Additional sponsors include: Hoard’s Dairyman, International Protein Sires, Select Sires, Inc., St. Jacobs ABC, STgenetics, Trans Ova Genetics and Vita Plus Corporation.