On Dec. 3, WTAMU hosted the Junior College Livestock Contest. The contest helps prepare junior college students for larger competitions as well as having the opportunity to recruit new students to WT.

Twelve junior colleges attended the contest from six different states, consisting of around 150 contestants. The grand champion was Redland Community College in Oklahoma.

The first part of the contest consists of the students judging groups of four animals or classes to rank the animals that have the most desirable characteristics. There is an official committee that also ranks the animals so that the students can be scored based on how they compare to the committee. The second part of the contest is a two-minute oral presentation where students give reasons why they picked the animals they did in front of an official.

“The great thing about livestock judging, is that it’s a learning activity giving students limited information, making a decision, and defending that decision in a convincing way,” said David Lust, a WT Animal Science professor and contest superintendent. “It’s a fantastic skill set that’s transferable to anything you do in life.”

Marcus Arnold, the WT livestock judging coach and a superintendent of the contest, organized the event and made sure that everything was in order.

“In my mind, the livestock judging contest went real smooth,” said Arnold. “In events like this, it helps that you have a lot of people helping out, including many freshman animal science students and past judging students. [They] made this event as successful as it is.”

The WT Livestock Judging team also participated in the contest as a practice event to prepare themselves for upcoming competitions. Their season begins on Jan. 12, 2012 at the National Western Contest in Denver.

“I constructed this contest like the Denver National Western to prepare WT students for the competition,” said Arnold. “I’m really excited about the 2012 year. I’m real passionate about livestock judging and really like working with the kids. It’s a real good experience for those who are interested in livestock.”

The WT team consists of eight members, including Royce Kratz, who is part of the 2012 livestock judging team.

“This is my first contest and I enjoyed it,” said Kratz. “I’ve done meat judging, but this is a good experience for me.”