News Release

Monday, October 1, 2018

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

University of Wisconsin-River Falls Tops National Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest

MADISON, WIS. – The University of Wisconsin-River Falls took home top honors for the first time in more than two decades at World Dairy Expo in the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest on October 1. Twenty-one schools competed in the contest, and leading the top team and placing third overall individually was Erica Helmer. Coached by Steve Kelm and Mary Holle, the team from River Falls consists of Kaila Tauchen, ninth place individual overall, Matt Kramer and Clint Irrthum, in addition to Helmer. This group also topped the reasons portion of the competition. Virginia Tech followed as second team overall with team member Shelby Iager placing first overall individually and third overall in reasons. While David Pintens of University of Wisconsin-Madison won the oral reasons contest. Other teams placing in the top five overall were Cornell University, third; University of Wisconsin-Madison, fourth; and Oklahoma State University, fifth.

Teams and individuals receiving recognition include:

Top Ten Teams – Overall:

  1. University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 2,487, team members: Erica Helmer, Matt Kramer, Kaila Tauchen and Clint Irrthum, coached by Steve Kelm and Mary Holle
  2. Virginia Tech, 2,484, team members: Katelyn Allen, Shelby Iager, Sarah Thomas and Leah Hall, coached by Katharine Knowlton and Kayla Umbel
  3. Cornell University, 2,463, team members: Christopher Sweeny, Stephanie McBath, Kayla Windecker and Brittany Hardy, coached by Kevin Ziemba
  4. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2,456, team members: David Pintens, Nicole Pralle, Molly Hendrickson and Danielle Warmka, coached by Brian Kelroy and Trent Olson
  5. Oklahoma State University, 2,438, Jax Bauer, Carly Olufs, Nicole Sanders and Hannah Young, coached by David Jones
  6. University of Minnesota, 2,435, team members: Haely Leiding, Kayla Leiding, Krista Styer and Lauren Hendel, coached by Dr. Les Hansen, Alicia Thurk Hiebert, Eric Houdek and Gabriella Sorg
  7. University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 2,423, team members: Paul Grulke, Ryan Smith, Abbey Williams and Ellie Lenkaitis, coached by Cory Weigel
  8. Pennsylvania State University, 2,417, team members: Justin Ayers, Emily Supancik, Stephanie Takitch and Kelly MacRae, coached by Dale Olver
  9. Delaware Valley University, 2,402, team members: Lindsay Smith, Amanda Wengryn, Mary Lawrence and Madison Jackson, coached by Ethan Arsenault
  10. The Ohio State University, 2,394, team members: Hannah Dye, Katia Hardman and Kate Sherman, coached by Bonnie Ayers and Paul Detwiler

Top Ten Individuals – Overall:

  1. Shelby Iager, 859, Virginia Tech
  2. David Pintens, 857, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  3. Erica Helmer, 850, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
  4. Kayla Leiding, 850, University of Minnesota
  5. Kate Sherman, 833, The Ohio State University
  6. Christopher Sweeney, 833, Cornell University
  7. Nicole Sanders, 832, Oklahoma State University
  8. Makayla Petter, 831, Michigan State University
  9. Kaila Tauchen, 828, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
  10. Kayla Windecker, 825, Cornell University

Top Ten Teams – Reasons:

  1. University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 815, coached by Steve Kelm
  2. Virginia Tech, 811, coached by Katharine Knowlton and Kayla Umbel
  3. Cornell University, 811, coached by Kevin Ziemba
  4. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 811, coached by Brian Kelroy and Trent Olson
  5. University of Minnesota, 797, coached by Dr. Les Hansen, Alicia Thurk Hiebert, Eric Houdek and Gabriella Sorg
  6. University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 780, coached by Cory Weigel
  7. Oklahoma State University, 779, coached by David Jones
  8. Pennsylvania State University, 777, coached by Dale Olver
  9. Tarleton State University, 777, coached by Barry Cavitt and Morgan Cavitt
  10. The Ohio State University, 771, coached by Bonnie Ayers and Paul Detwiler

Top Ten Individuals – Reasons:

  1. David Pintens, 285, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  2. Erica Helmer, 284, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
  3. Shelby Iager, 282, Virginia Tech
  4. Kayla Leiding, 277, University of Minnesota
  5. Nicole Sanders, 275, Oklahoma State University
  6. Ryan Smith, 275, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
  7. Stephanie McBath, 273, Cornell University
  8. Ellen Schilderink, 273, The Ohio State University
  9. Kate Sherman, 272, The Ohio State University
  10. Kayla Windecker, 270, Cornell University

The National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest is made possible in part through the generous support of Platinum Level Sponsor Channel Seed; Gold Sponsors, DeLaval, Inc., ST Genetics and Westway Feed Products; and additional supporters.

Serving as the meeting place of the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo brings together the latest in dairy innovation and the best cattle in North America. Crowds of nearly 70,000 people, from 100 countries, will return to Madison, Wisconsin for the 52nd annual event, October 2-6, 2018, when the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, dairy and forage seminars, a world-class dairy cattle show and more will be on display. Visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or YouTube for more information. 

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Note to Editors: High-resolution photos of the winners are available here.