COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Livestock Judging Team took top honors at the second-annual Hog College Home Run Drive contest at the National Barrow Show held Sept. 8-11 in Austin, Minn.
The Home Run Drive is a competition where college teams rank the Hog College gilts and boars from each of the eight major swine breeds based on how well they represent their respective breed. A panel of official judges also develop a ranking, and the collegiate team whose rankings most mimics the panel’s wins $100 and swine industry magazine subscriptions.
In the livestock judging contest 16 schools from around the country judged nine classes of hogs, answered 10 questions and presented four sets of oral reasons on their class placings. Ohio State ranked sixth in reasons and eighth in class placings. The team finished eighth overall, marking the first time since 1996-97 when OSU teams finished in the top ten in consecutive years. The OSU team was seventh last year.
Duane Shawk, Bucyrus, Ohio, led the team individually, finishing seventh overall, the highest ever for an OSU student at National Barrow Show. Shawk was delighted to see how much progress he and his teammates have made in reasons, and remarked, “This is the first time I have ever talked my way into the top ten.”
Assistant judging team coach, Jake Boyert, was pleasantly surprised with the progress the team has made in reasons stating, “I knew we were improving, but I didn’t realize just how much.” Boyert, was on the OSU team last year and is completing his undergraduate degree in Agribusiness this fall. The top five reasons scorers for OSU had all but two sets of reasons scoring over 45 points, and the team finished just 26 points shy of the high team in reasons.
Head coach, Kyle Culp, offered, “It is very nice to see everything coming together. When this team started we were in a huge reasons deficit. Last spring at Houston, we were outtalked by over 2.5 points per set per student. Last week, we closed the gap to just about 1 point per set.”
Other team members for this event included Emily Limes, Bowling Green, Ohio, Adam Fennig, Coldwater, Ohio, Paige Guenther, Rushylvania, Ohio, Justin Bachman, Lancaster, Ohio, Rebecca Wallen, St. Paris, Ohio, and Megan Moorman, Xenia, Ohio.
For more information about the OSU Livestock Judging Team, please contact Kyle Culp at culp.1045@osu.edu.
Picture – Left to Right, Duane Shawk, Bucyrus, OH, Paige Guenther, Rushylvania, OH, Emily Limes, Bowling Green, OH, Megan Moorman, Xenia, OH, Rebecca Wallen, St. Paris, OH, Justin Bachman, Lancaster, OH, Adam Fennig, Coldwater, OH, and Coach Kyle Culp.