Wool Judging Team Ends Season on High Note

Texas Tech’s wool judging team successfully finished its season with a decisive victory March 13 at the Houston Livestock Show’s Intercollegiate Wool Judging Contest.

Texas Tech’s red team finished first and posted a total score of 2,201 points – 24 points ahead of its nearest competitor. The Red Raider’s black team scored 2,163 points and finished third overall.

The team won the placing and reasons divisions and finished third in the grading division

“We had a successful year with some narrow defeats,” said Aaron Jennings, the team’s coach and a graduate student in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. “Winning Houston was a true testament to this team’s talent and work ethic. I fully expect these students to continue to have great success in the Texas Tech judging program.”

Other top finishers included Angelo State University, Colorado State University and Texas A&M University who finished second, fourth and fifth overall, respectively.

Individually, five of the top-ten individuals were from Texas Tech. Colton Coker, a freshman from Roby, placed second. He was followed closely by teammate Ward Kerr, a freshman from Mertzon, who placed third. Kassandra Ognoskie, a freshman from Orting, Wash., placed seventh; Tayler Green, a freshman from Ropesville, placed ninth; and Austin Langemeier, a freshman from Marion, placed tenth.

Additional team members included:

• Brittany Blum, a freshman from Howe
• Kylan Carson, a freshman from Olton
• Tyler Neuman, a freshman from Hondo
• Bailey Joe Pennington, a freshman from Sonora
• Marlynke Vanderlei, a freshman from Amherst
• Rex West, a freshman from Paris
• Christy Woerner, a freshman from Fredericksburg
• William Wunderlich, a freshman from Fredericksburg
• Lukas Ziegler, a freshman from New Windsor, Md.

The team was coached by Jennings and Brittany Thompson, an undergraduate student in the department.

This was the final contest for the team comprising all freshman students. Previously, the team competed at the National Western in Denver, Colo., where it was narrowly defeated and finished third overall. The team earned second-place honors at the San Antonio Stock Show’s competition on Feb. 10.