UNO Soil Judging Team Places 2nd in Regional Contest
The UNO team placed second overall in the 2021 Region 5 Soil Judging Contest held in Crookston, MN, qualifying them for the national contest that will be held in April of 2022.
- published: 2021/10/16
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- Soil Judging
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Back (L to R): Ken Smith, Michael Albrecht, Aaron Spomer, Matthew Krejci; Front (L to R): Justin Wheeler, Ozark Sutula, Ashlee Dere, Taylor Sada-Keele, Dakota Stock, Parker Smith, Kate Wojcik
Group picture of the 2021 Soil Judging Team posing in the competition pit.
UNO’s 2021 Soil Judging Team took second place in the annual Region 5 Soil Judging Contest held in Crookston, MN, qualifying them for the national contest that will be held in April of 2022. The top three teams move on to the national contest with UNO joining the University of Minnesota (1st place winner) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (3rd place). This is the first time UNO has qualified for the national competition.
The 2021 UNO Soil Judging Team consists of Coach Ashlee Dere, Associate Professor of Geology at UNO, and the following students:
- Michael Albrecht
- Matthew Krejci
- Taylor Sada-Keele
- Ken Smith
- Parker Smith
- Aaron Spomer
- Dakota Stock
- Ozark Sutula
- Justin Wheeler
- Kate Wojcik
Coach Ashlee Dere congratulated the students on a job well-done and is looking forward to bringing the team to the national competition.
"This is a great accomplishment for the students, and I am so impressed with their hard work and ability to work as a team," Dere says.
In addition to placing second overall, UNO placed third in the Group Judging event and had three individuals place in the top 10 out of 57 total competitors: Dakota Stock (5th), Taylor Sada-Keele (6th), and Matthew Krejci (9th).
The UNO Soil Judging Team has been participating in the Region 5 contest for five years, and this valuable opportunity will continue to be available to students in the years to come.