UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State students placed first overall in the 2009 Northeast Affiliate of the American Dairy Science Association and American Society of Animal Science at its annual contest in February, marking a repeat of their strong performance in the 2008 contest.
Four other Penn State teams placed in the top 10 overall rankings.
The event was hosted by the University of Connecticut.
Penn State teams won first place in the Judging Division and the Quiz Bowl and David Wilson, Port Royal, was named Outstanding Senior.
Top honors
Several students took top honors in the paper presentation portion of the contest.
Thirty-two students from the Dairy Science Club and Block and Bridle Club represented Penn State in teams of four.
Penn State’s team “E” placed first overall in the contest and first in the quiz bowl division.
Team members were Chris Molinaro, McClure; Jenny Rassler, Kempton; Callihan Schillaci, Ephrata and Wilson.
The first place judging team was Penn State’s “G” team, consisting of Elizabeth Smith, Lebanon; Turner Swartz, Port Royal; Mike Woods, Mechanicsburg and Adam Zurin, Mount Joy.
Three other Penn State teams placed in the top five.
Individual judging contest
In the individual judging contest, Will Nichols, Tyrone, placed second; Mike Woods, third; Wilson, sixth and Swartz, seventh.
Wilson was named Outstanding Senior in Animal Science based on scholarship, leadership, involvement in agriculture and future plans.
Penn State DAS students also excelled in the portion of the contest which involved presenting a paper on a current topic in animal science.
Jessica Rose, Lebanon, captured second place with her presentation on genomics and Robyn Bechtel, Martinsburg, placed fifth with her speech on lactoferrin in milk.
Original research division
Janelle Hartzell, Slippery Rock, also won top honors in the original research division with her presentation on a comparative study of protein sources in dairy rations.
Other presenters included Ashley Harshbarger, Millerstown; Chad Hoover, Patton; Molinaro; Schillaci, Anna Smith, Belleville; Woods and Kasey Woolam, South Windsor, Conn.
