An NDSU team comprised of four animal sciences majors won the Midwest Academic Quadrathlon held March 11 at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.
The team members are:
• Al Schwalbe, a senior from Beulah, North Dakota
• Laura Sauer, a senior from Long Prairie, Minnesota
• Kylee Reiser, a senior from Turtle Lake, North Dakota
• Anne Brien, a senior from Belcourt, North Dakota
NDSU competed against 11 Midwestern universities in four categories: Lab Practicum, Oral Presentation, Written Examination and Quiz Bowl.
The NDSU team placed first in Oral Presentation, Written Exam and Quiz Bowl, and finished second in Lab Practicum.
The lab practicum assesses the students’ hands-on skills in a variety of fields, from companion animals to cattle, horses, hogs, sheep and poultry. In the oral presentation, the team is given one hour to research a topic and then give a 10-minute presentation. The written exam focuses on the subject areas of nutrition, reproduction, genetics and breeding, with products such as meat, milk and eggs. In the quiz bowl, the fastest team with the correct answer wins.
The team is advised by Loren Baranko, lecturer of animal sciences. “This team is the second from the NDSU animal sciences department to win this competition,” Baranko said.” They are an exceptional group of students and our department could not be more proud of their accomplishments.”
Michigan State University placed second overall, followed by University of Missouri in third place.
The NDSU team moves on to the national competition against other regional winners that is scheduled during the American Society of Animal Science-Canadian Society of Animal Science annual meeting and trade show July 8-11 in Austin, Texas.
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