FFA team performs well at state

Forty-five Sleepy Eye FFA members traveled to the University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus, where they participated in the 83rd Annual Minnesota FFA State Convention. More than 3,000 FFA members, advisors and guests from throughout the state gathered for the convention from Sunday, April 22  through Tuesday, April 24.

The Sleepy Eye FFA Career Development Event teams brought home plaques and success stories after competing at the state level.

The Poultry Judging team earned a gold rating and finished in third place. Brandon Roiger placed seventh and Jamie Fischer placed 16th individually.

The Soils Judging team finished in third place and also earned a gold rating. Team leaders include Matt Schroepfer (third place), Jake Trebesch (11th place), and Josh Kotten (16th place).

The Forestry team placed 18th as a team, and all members earned a silver rating. It was the first year that the Floriculture team made a trip to state, and they received 11th place overall. Leading the way was Chanda Fuller, who placed 27th individually.

The Nursery and Landscape team barely missed nationals, earning second place. Each team member was in the top 25, including Josie Fischer (second place), Michael Sprenger (7th place), Kari Schumacher (15th place) and Nathan McMullen (25th place).

The Dairy Foods team finished in 11th place and earned a gold rating, while Katelyn Johnson led the way with a 10th place finish.

The Dairy Cattle Judging team was 23rd and earned a silver rating. Participating in the Dairy Handling Competition were Mary Rosenhammer (third place) and John Mangen. The Small Animals team finished in 15th place and Jenna Soukup placed third individually in the event.

The Best Informed Greenhand team placed fifth overall. In the speaking events, Chanda Fuller placed eighth individually in the Extemporaneous event and Brandon Roiger was the runner-up earning second place in Prepared Public Speaking. Jessica Busch also placed second in Job Interview. In the proficiency category, Brandon Roiger and Chanda Fuller were second in the state, while Matt Schroepfer finished in third. State winners include Cynthia Hansen, Josie Fischer and Tia Cselovszki.

The Sleepy Eye FFA had 13 members receive the State FFA Degree, the most in the state. Recipients include Cynthia Hansen, Brandon Martinez, Adam Sellner, Mikail Sellner, Marc Gemmill, Amanda Goblirsch, Josie Fischer, Chanda Fuller, Brandon Roiger, Michael Sprenger, Aileen Roman, Rachel Schroeder and Jessica Busch. In addition, the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter was the state winner in the Ag. Literacy Challenge, fifth for the National Chapter Award and a top 10 chapter in the Land of Service Challenge. They also won the Membership Challenge, which means over 85 percent of students in Ag. Classes are in FFA. In the Chapter Exchange of Ideas, Sleepy Eye was the Student Development Winner.