Louisburg FFA wins three state championships

By Andy Brown
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Updated: May 26, 2016

Photo courtesy of Jim Morgan

The Louisburg High School FFA members who competed at the Kansas CDE state competition are (front row, from left) Mariah Wrigley, Hallie Hutsell, Faith Seuferling, Hattie Harris, Wyatt Reece, Georgia Wilde, Lilly Mick, Kaitlyn Urban; (middle) Alex Dunn, Ellie Katzer, Paige Buffington, Bryn O’Meara, Lexie Reece, Morgan Strumillo, Madelynn Yalowitz; (back) Alex Seuferling, Abby Tucker, Megan Eberhart, Katie Reece and Mason Koechner.

The Louisburg High School FFA chapter is no stranger to winning state championships – in fact – it has become expected.

This year was no different as Louisburg won state championships in three Career Development Events when results were released earlier this month. Louisburg was within just a few points of winning more as 32 points separated the Wildcats from having six state champs.

Louisburg won state titles in Floriculture, Dairy Foods and Poultry, while three more teams earned second place honors. It is the fifth year in a row that Louisburg has had multiple state winners and it has had at least one state champion in 12 of the last 13 years.

The three state championship teams will compete at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October.

(From left) Madelynn Yalowitz, Morgan Strumillo and Lexie Reece won the state Floriculture CDE. Pictured with the group is adviser Jim Morgan. Not pictured is Bryn O’Meara.

“This only happens because of the great students enrolling in agriculture education classes and then working hard when the opportunity arises,” Louisburg FFA adviser Jim Morgan said. “I am really proud of how all the teams did. Having three winning and three runners-up speaks to how hard the kids work.”

The Floriculture team of Madelynn Yalowitz, Bryn O’Meara, Morgan Strumillo and Lexie Reece had a strong showing with their first place finish. Yalowitz finished first individually and O’Meara came in fifth.

Georgia Wilde, Justin Sievert, Mason Koechner and Wyatt Reece helped the Dairy Foods team to a state title and got good performances individually from Wilde and Sievert. Wilde took first place individually and Sievert was seventh.

(From left) Justin Sievert, Wyatt Reece and Mason Koechner won the state Dairy Foods CDE. Pictured with the group is adviser Jim Morgan. Not pictured is Georgia Wilde.

Faith Seuferling, Hattie Harris, Hallie Hutsell and Mariah Wrigley won a state championship in the Poultry division and three of them placed individually. Seuferling came in first, Harris was fifth and Hutsell took eighth.

Three more Louisburg teams nearly earned a spot in the national competition, but came up just a few points short.

The Food Science team of Wilde, Lilly Mick, Kaitlyn Urban and Wyatt Reece finished second overall, but Wilde came in first individually. Mick and Urban took ninth and 10^th, respectively.

Paige Buffington, Ellie Katzer, Gracie Key and Liz Hildreth led the Veterinary Science team to a runner-up finish. Buffington (sixth), Katzer (ninth) and Key (10^th) all placed in the top 10.

The Nursery and Landscape team of Abby Tucker, Megan Eberhart, Kaitlyn Gaza and Katzer was also runner-up. Tucker (third), Eberhart (fifth), Gaza (sixth) and Katzer (ninth) placed individually.

(From left) Mariah Wrigley, Hattie Harris and Faith Seuferling won the state Poultry CDE. Also pictured is FFA adviser Jim Morgan. Not pictured is Hallie Hutsell.

“Because they had set their goal on winning state, the teams that placed second were disappointed and sad,” Morgan said. “They sometimes don’t realize that it is a great accomplishment just to make the top five.

“It is tough to reflect that 32 points total separated Louisburg from having six state winners.”

The Ag Mechanics team of Bradley Trageser, Alex Dunn, Alex Seuferling and Cole Harshaw finished seventh in the team competition. The Ag Business Management team of Dunn, Katie Reece, Megan Roy and Tucker came in eighth to round out the Wildcat teams.