2010 - Present Judging Teams
2017 Judging Team
L to R: Kathryn Wright (Student Assistant Coach), Dr. Katharine Knowlton (Coach), Blake Smith, Cortney Hostetter, Hannah Van Dyk, Kayla Umbel.
The 2018 Judging Team off to a great start in New England!
The season started off with both teams competing in the Eastern States contest in Massachusetts. Team A won High Team in Jerseys and in Oral Reasons, and was 4th overall. They were led by Katelyn Allen, 1st overall as well as 1st in Ayrshires, Milking Shorthorns, Jerseys, and Guernseys. Sarah was 2nd in reasons, Shelby 3rd, Katelyn 6th, and Kavita 8th. A team won Jerseys and was high team in oral reasons.
The Pennsylvania All American contest in Harrisburg PA was another successful day. Only the A team competed; they placed 1st overall. Also, they were 3rd in reasons and 1st in Ayrshires. This time Sarah Thomas was the star, winning high individual overall and placing 2nd in reasons and 1st in Brown Swiss. Shelby Iager also had a great day, winning Ayrshires and Holsteins, earning a perfect 50 on her Holstein reasons.
This year’s team ‘A’ members are Katelyn Allen from Jefferson, MD; Leah Hall from Riner, VA; Shelby Iager from Frederick, MD; and Sarah Thomas of Snow Camp, NC. B team is Will Boyd of Chesapeake, VA; Kavita Bushong of Lancaster, PA; Rachel Kanefsky from northern Virginia and Catherine Savage of Dickerson MD.The judging teams are coached by Dr. Katharine Knowlton, who was assisted this year by Kayla Umbel, a Dairy Science senior and member of the 2017 judging team.
The 2017 Virginia Tech Dairy Judging Team scores at the Big E and Pennsylvania All American Dairy Show!
Eastern States Exposition:
B team - (Katelyn Allen, Emma Currie, Sandra Krone, Nikki Long) 1st team overall, 4th team reasons. Emma 3rd high individual, Sandra 7th high individual)
A team - (Cortney Hostetter, Blake Smith, Kayla Umbel, Hannah Van Dyk) 2nd team overall, 1st team reasons. Cortney 4th high individual and 4th in reasons, Kayla 5th high individual and 2nd in reasons, Hannah 3rd in reasons)
Pennsylvania All American Dairy Show:
A team- 5th overall, 2nd team reasons. Hannah Van Dyk 1st in reasons, 2nd overall. Cortney Hostetter 2nd in reasons, 9th overall. (B team doesn’t compete at Harrisburg.)September 20, 2014—This year’s team ‘A’ members are Caitlyn Abbot from Fairfield VT, Lucas DeBlois from Colebrook NH, Jenna Hardy from Perkasie PA and Ryan Zimmerman from Littlestown PA. Team ‘B’ members are Cole Davis from Pleasant Garden NC, Kelly Leatherman from Perkasie PA and Joy Nystrom from Culpeper VA. The judging teams are coached by Drs. Michael Barnes and Katharine Knowlton.
The season started off with both teams competing in the Eastern States contest in Massachusetts. Cole Davis was 1st in Guernseys, 3rd in Holsteins, 4th in Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns, 6th in reasons and 1st overall and was High Individual Overall. Jenna placed 3rd in Brown Swiss, 7th in reasons and 4th overall, Ryan was 5th in Guernseys and 11th overall, Caitlyn 14th overall and Lucas was 1st in Milking Shorthorns. Team A was 2nd overall and 4th in reasons and Team B finished 5th in reasons.
The Pennsylvania All American contest in Harrisburg PA was another successful day. Only the A team competed; they placed 3rd in reasons and 3rd overall. Ryan placed 3rd in Brown Swiss, 3rd in Guernseys, 10th in reasons and 7th overall, Lucas was 8th in Brown Swiss, Caitlyn finished 5th in Guernsey, 8th in Jerseys and 8th overall and Jenna placed 1st in Guernseys, 1st in Holsteins, 3rd in reasons and 3rd overall. In addition to their 3rd place finish in team reasons and overall, the team finished 1st in Guernseys and 2nd in Holsteins, 3rd in reasons.
Team members and coaches greatly appreciate the support of the Virginia State Dairyman’s Association, the Virginia Dairy Foundation, the Virginia Tech Dairy Club, and the many AI organization and alumni donors who provide financial support for this activity. We also thank VANC Select Sire Power for their generous donation of team-member recognition plaques each year. The team is also indebted to the many farms throughout the northeast, mid-Atlantic, southeast and Wisconsin who host judging practices throughout the year.
Hokies bring home another National Championship from the 2013 World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI!
Oct. 2, 2013—Taking top honors at the Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest on Monday, September 30 gave the Virginia Tech Dairy Judging Team their fourth national championship in eight years-a record no other school can match! The VT team held the overall team title, was first in team reasons, and held numerous individual placings.
The team's outstanding performance was underscored by the three VT All-American individuals: senior Mandi Ramsburg who placed 1st overall individually, followed by sophomore Lizzie Davis and senior Mackenzie Moore who placed 2nd and 5th, respectively.
Additional highlights include Virginia Tech freshman Cassidy Schirmer, who is a member of the Maryland 4-H team. Maryland won the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest - with a one point margin of victory!
And, freshman Cara Woloohjian (RI) showed her cow Wee Acres Spider Clara Bell to first place in her class, then Senior and Grand Champion of the junior show (best Guernsey cow in the US owned by a youth) and THEN Senior and Grand Champion of the OPEN show. Best Guernsey cow in the US!
2011--A year to remember for the Virginia Tech Judging Team, capped off by an historic tie!
For only the second time in 91 years, there was a tie for high team at the national intercollegiate dairy cattle judging contest. The Virginia Tech team tied for first place with the team from Cornell; after the tiebreaker, Virginia Tech placed second overall. Team members are Carissa Doody, junior dairy science major from Union Bridge, MD, Cody Pearson, junior dairy science major from Millbury, MA, Austin Schwartzbeck, sophomore dairy science major from Union Bridge MD and Jason Zimmerman, sophomore dairy science major from Littlestown, PA. The judging teams are coached by Drs. Michael Barnes and Katharine Knowlton.
This is the fifth time in six years the team has placed in the top three of the national competition. In addition for their tie for first, Virginia Tech placed first in Ayrshires and first in Guernseys. Carissa placed third overall and eighth in reasons. Jason placed eighth overall, and Austin placed ninth. Each team member placed in the top 5 individually in at least one breed, and all four were named “All Americans” by virtue of placing in the top 25 for individual scores in the competition. The last time all four Virginia Tech team members were named All Americans was 1998!
The team’s success at Madison was built on their good work at two earlier contests. At the Eastern States competition in Massachusetts, both team A and team B completed, and it was the team B that came out on top, winning Holsteins and the overall title, while Team A was first in Milking Shorthorns, and first in reasons. Team B members are Kelsey Smith from Paris TN, Robert McGarry from Enosburg Falls VT, Ashley Martin from Gorham ME and Alex Patch from Lebanon NH. Kelsey was high individual in that contest; Ashley was 3rd overall and Cody Pearson placed 5th overall.
Harrisburg was the most challenging of the contests. Team A competed; Jason Zimmerman was high individual in Ayrshires and Carissa, Cody and Austin were each top 10 in one breed. The team placed 5th place in Holsteins, 5th in Reasons and 8th overall.
Virginia Tech Judging Team “B” will compete at the North American contest in Louisville, KY.
Team members and coaches greatly appreciate the support of the Virginia State Dairyman’s Association, the Virginia Dairy Foundation, the Virginia Tech Dairy Club, many the many AI organization and alumni donors who provide financial support for this activity. We also thank VANC Select Sire Power for their generous donation of team-member recognition plaques each year. The team is also indebted to the many farms throughout the northeast, mid-Atlantic, southeast and Wisconsin who host judging practices throughout the year.
2010 Placings:
2nd Overall at Eastern States Exposition, Springfield, MA
2nd Overall and High Team Oral Reasons at All-American Contest, Harrisburg, PA
6th Overall at National Contest, World Dairy Expo, Madison, WI
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"Dairy judging teaches important professional skills. The cows are just the bait to attract students to learn these skills."
--Dr. Katharine Knowlton
“The real value of participating on a judging team is the gains in problem analysis and solving skills, as well as the teamwork, self-discipline, and communication skills that students experience. These skills and characteristics are highly valued by virtually all employers and quickly enable these students to progress into leadership positions.”
--Dr. Mike Barnes