UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — It’s not necessary to be a lumberjack to pursue a career in forestry, Penn State senior Timothy Benedict will tell you, but it doesn’t hurt either.
The senior forest science major in the University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, placed third in the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Event Aug. 28 in Salem, Ore. — one of just six students who qualified for the finals of the lumberjack competition.
Daniel Jones, of Haywood Community College in North Carolina, captured the title. Cal Poly’s Walt Page was second. A native of Pittsfield, Pa., Benedict, a 6-foot-1-inch 225-pounder, in 2010 also competed in the event, which is part of the Oregon State Fair.
Education
He earned an associate’s degree in Forest Technology at Penn State Mont Alto in May 2010 and re-enrolled for the fall semester at the University Park campus to pursue his bachelor’s degree. He hopes to work as a forester with a small sawmill after graduation.
The six collegiate lumberjacks faced off across four professional lumberjack disciplines — single buck, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop — to determine the nation’s collegiate champion. The collegiate champion earns an automatic spot in the 2012 Stihl Timbersports Professional Series, which is televised regularly by ESPN.
More than 60 colleges and universities from across the nation competed in the 2011 Collegiate Series.
