News Release

Monday, October 3, 2016

CONTACT: Lisa Behnke, Communications Manager, lbehnke@wdexpo.com
                   Jenna Langrehr, Communications Specialist, jlangrehr@wdexpo.com
PHONE:      608-224-6455

Northeast Iowa Community College Garners Top Spot in International Post-Secondary Contest

MADISON, WIS. – Northeast Iowa Community College captured top honors with the overall team title and second place in team reasons at the International Post-Secondary Dairy Cattle Judging Contest presented by Lely at World Dairy Expo® on Monday, October 3. Aaron Houdek led the team as the second place individual overall and fourth individual in reasons. Teammates, Carley Vinklemeier, Ellis Frank  and Chelsey Jensen took third, sixth and tenth overall, respectively, helping the team earn its first place finish. Kaskaskia College, second place team overall and first team in reasons, was led by Tucker Peterson, fourth individual overall and third individual in reasons. Rounding out the top five teams were: Michigan State University Ag Tech, Highland Community College and SUNY Cobleskill.

Teams and individuals receiving recognition are as follows:

Overall Top 10 Teams:

  1. Northeast Iowa Community College, 2,233, coached by Dave Lawstuen
  2. Kaskaskia College, 2,199, coached by Aaron Heinzman
  3. Michigan State University Ag Tech, 2,171, coached by Joe Domecq
  4. Highland Community College, 2,144, coached by Kristi Dinderman
  5. SUNY Cobleskill, 2,090, coached by Carrie Edsall
  6. The Ohio State University ATI, 2,088, coached by Don Hange
  7. Fox Valley Technical College, 2,032, coached by Kevin Rauchholz and Cassandra Haen
  8. Alfred State College, 2,028, coached by Dorothea Fitzsimmons
  9. Modesto Junior College, 2,019, coached by Bill Hobby
  10. Morrisville State College, 2,003, coached by Ashley Adams

Overall Top 10 Individuals:

  1. Rachel Ekkel, 763, Michigan State University Ag Tech
  2. Aaron Houdek, 755, Northeast Iowa Community College
  3. Carley Vinkemeier, 750, Northeast Iowa Community College
  4. Tucker Peterson, 739, Kaskaskia College
  5. Steven Nelson, 737, Kaskaskia College
  6. Ellis Frank, 728, Northeast Iowa Community College
  7. Shelby Berens, 726, Michigan State University Ag Tech
  8. Anna Folgate, 726, Highland Community College
  9. Tj Wingert, 723, Kaskaskia College
  10. Chelsey Jensen, 719, Northeast Iowa Community College

Top 5 Team Reasons:

  1. Kaskaskia College, 553, coached by Aaron Heinzmann
  2. Northeast Iowa Community College, 542,  coached by Dave Lawstuen
  3. Michigan State University Ag Tech, 539, coached by Joe Domecq
  4. SUNY Cobleskill, 530, coached by Carrie Edsall
  5. The Ohio State ATI, 510, coached by Don Hange

Top 10 Individual Reasons:

  1. Rachel Ekkel, 191, Michigan State University Ag Tech
  2. Steven Nelson, 191, Kaskaskia College
  3. Tucker Peterson, 185, Kaskaskia College
  4. Aaron Houdek, 184, Northeast Iowa Community College
  5. Carley Vinkemeier, 183, Northeast Iowa Community College
  6. Kate Patenaude, 183, SUNY Cobleskill
  7. Megan Terrell, 179, SUNY Cobleskill
  8. Rhiannon Branch, 179, Kaskaskia College
  9. Evelyn Okkema, 179, Michigan State University Ag Tech
  10. Tj Wingert, 177, Kaskaskia College

Top 5 Team Practical Contest:

  1. Northeast Iowa Community College, 628, coached by Dave Lawstuen
  2. Fox Valley Technical College, 599.33, coached by Kevin Rauchholz and Cassandra Haen
  3. University of Wisconsin- Platteville, 585.67, coached by Cory Weigel
  4. SUNY Cobleskill, 556.33, coached by Carrie Edsall
  5. The Ohio State University ATI, 552.33, coached by Don Hange

Top 5 Teams Linear Contest:

  1. Fox Valley Technical College, 442, coached by Kevin Rauchholz and Cassandra Haen
  2. The Ohio State University ATI, 442, coached by Don Hange
  3. Northeast Iowa Community College, 438, coached by Dave Lawstuen
  4. University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 425, coached by Cory Weigel
  5. Lakeshore Technical College- B, 367, coached by Sheryl Nehls

Top 10 Individuals Linear Contest:

  1. Carley Vinkemeier, 159, Northeast Iowa Community College
  2. Kelvin Arnold, 158, Fox Valley Technical College
  3. Adam Miley, 154, The Ohio State University ATI
  4. Macala Ellis, 153, Fox Valley Technical College
  5. Liz Berstler, 149, The Ohio State University ATI
  6. Ellis Frank, 145, Northeast Iowa Community College
  7. Paul Grulke, 145, University of Wisconsin- Platteville
  8. Jenna Achterhof, 142, University of Wisconsin- Platteville
  9. Gordon Trahan, 142, Alfred State College
  10. John Paulin, 139, The Ohio State University ATI

Top 5 Teams Registered Class:

  1. The Ohio State University ATI, 184, coached by Don Hange
  2. Kaskaskia College, 183, coached by Aaron Heinzmann
  3. Alfred State College, 181, coached by Dorothea Fitzsimmons
  4. University of Wisconsin- Platteville, 162, coached by Cory Weigel
  5. SUNY Cobleskill, 160, coached by Carrie Edsall 

Top 5 Practical Commercial Class:

  1. Kaskaskia College, 143, coached by Aaron Heinzmann
  2. Northeast Iowa Community College, 136, coached by Dave Lawstuen
  3. Lakeshore Tech College-A, 121, coached by Sheryl Nehls
  4. Modesto Junior College, 118, coached by Bill Hobby
  5. Fox Valley Technical College, 108, coached by Kevin Rauchholz and Cassandra Haen

Top 5 Corrective Meeting:

  1. Fox Valley Technical College, 194, coached by Kevin Rauchholz and Cassandra Haen
  2. Northeast Iowa Community College, 191, coached by Dave Lawstuen
  3. University of Wisconsin- Platteville, 191, coached by Cory Weigel
  4. SUNY Cobleskill, 175, coached by Carrie Edsall
  5. Alfred State College, 165, coached by Dorothea Fitzsimmons

Additional contest funding is provided by Platinum Sponsor, DeKalb; and Gold Sponsors, DeLaval, Inc and Westway Feed Products.

Recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo attracts more than 70,000 attendees from over 90 countries to Madison, Wis. each year. The annual event will take place October 4–8, 2016, with the theme of “Celebrate 50!” to commemorate its golden anniversary. Visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@WDExpo or #Celebrate50) for more information. 

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Note to Editors:  High-resolution photo is available upon request from kschmitt@wdexpo.com