Lake Land College’s Livestock Judging Team was named the Overall Reserve Team at the 2023 National Barrow Show in Austin, Minnesota. The team finished the competition tied for the best score and ultimately placed second with a tiebreaker. Anchoring the team’s success were students Cooper Bertolino, Nokomis, Illinois; Ashtyn Harvey, Straughn, Indiana; Paige Lemenager, Hudson, Illinois and Skyler Ward, New Paris, Ohio, who each placed in the top ten for overall individual performance.

The following students competed at the event as members of Lake Land’s Livestock Judging Team.

One of the most historic livestock shows in the country, the National Barrow Show is centered around swine judging. Participants in the event judge eight classes of breeding and market hogs, providing four sets of oral reasons and answering one set of performance questions. Since its creation in the 1970s, Lake Land’s Livestock Judging Team has attended the contest every year that it has been held.

The team’s success at the National Barrow Show supplements its rich history of excellence. Recently, the group was also named the Overall Reserve Team at the Top Notch Collegiate Contest in Paragould, Arkansas. Ashtyn Harvey, Straughn, Indiana and Gabe Hanson, La Porte City, Iowa led the team to success at the contest by both finishing in the top five for overall individual performance.

The Lake Land College livestock judging team will return to action at the Flint Hills MidAmerica Classic in Hutchinson, Kansas in late September. By the season’s conclusion in March, the team will have competed in over a dozen major events throughout the country.

To learn more about Lake Land’s livestock judging team, visit https://www.lakelandcollege.edu/student-life/livestock-judging/. Prospective freshmen interested in joining the team can contact coach Hayden Wilder at 217-234-5360 or at hwilder@lakelandcollege.edu.