SDSU Meat Judging Wins

[i_got_a_fever]

So I had to post this because I am so proud of my teammates and coaches, but as you all know SDSU is Agriculture. Well we (SDSU Meat Judging Team) went out to Denver for the National Western Stock Show Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest and brought back 1st Place team honors, and I was also Total High Individual, over teams such as Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, UNL, Colorado State, Kansas State, NDSU, and the University of Wyoming. SDSU has now won Total High Individual 3 contests in a row, going back into last season. This was the first contest of 7 this season.

SDSU will be featured in the Wall Street Journal, papers around the region, and on a radio show called Loos Tales, which aires on over 100 radio stations across the country.

So as you can SDSU is rocking the judging circuit right now.

http://www.meatjudging.org/Contest%20Results/2008NationalWestern.htm

[1stRowFANatic]

Congratulations!!!!!

I ams sure most of us do not have any idea about the time put into getting to this level of competency in these competitions. Excellent representation of SDSU.

[West-River_Jack]

When the D-1 process started it was stated that a university is known by the company it keeps. It looks like SDSU is in pretty good company.

This is an excerpt from the link in the first post of this thread.

Top Teams

1. South Dakota State University, (4035)
2. Colorado State University, (4014)
3. Oklahoma State University, (3932)
4. University of Wyoming, (3923)
5. Texas A&M University, (3897)

[Jacks#1Fan]

Doesn't matter if it is athletic team GPA, meat judging, or you pick em...South Dakota's leading university leads the way nationally!!! Congratulations to the SDSU Meat Judging Team and to I Got A Fever!!!

[2002jack]

I got a fever!!....and the only prescription is MEAT JUDGING!



Congrats!!

[AZjack]

Hey, i got a fever are Bruns and Wulff still coaching up there or did they move on?

[i_got_a_fever]

Dr. Duane Wulf is still here, and is one of the best meat scientists in the country. He is our academic advisor/mentor. Between teaching and being head of the Meat Science Department, he is very busy. The Head Coach and Assistant Coach are usually grad students in the field of Meat Science.

[EQguy]

Over the years I have often heard about the meat judging teams at SDSU. Can someone enlighten me to what they are judging and how they are scored.

By the way congrats to you and your team fever. Keep it rolling.

[i_got_a_fever]

Here is a radio interview:

http://www.chewingthecud.org/radioshow/jan_25_2008_radioshowfile.mp3

[EQguy]

Thanks, that was pretty interesting. Good luck on the rest of your season

[i_got_a_fever]

Just to let everyone know, we've been to two contests this spring, and won both of them. We just got back from Fort Worth, Texas from the Southwestern Stock Show and again brought back the team title. We beat Oklahoma State by 2 points.

[Jacks#1Fan]

I got a fever as well, and the only prescription is "MORE COWBELL". But since I can't ring it in Frost now, I'll just have to say the only prescription is: keep on racking 'em up IGAF and teammates. Job well done!!!!

[90Jackrabbit]

Hey Fever congrats on the win, two contests and two first places I don't think an SDSU team has done that before. I was a member of the 89 team and assited Duane (Dr Wulf now) on the 90 team. I've got a ton of questions to ask you, can you post a link for the Southwestern results like you did for the Western. Where else are you going to this spring or is the junior season over. Back when I was on the team we had only two contests during the spring semester the Western and the GPI in Sioux Falls. Where do you work out these days, for us it was IBP in Luverne and John Morrels in SF. If there is a web page for your team on the Animal Science web site please post a link and keep us informed on how your team is doing, and good luck. BTW still using those blue pens for writing reasons.

[fanCNC]

Congrats! That's really something to be proud of.

[i_got_a_fever]

Here is the link to the Southwestern Stock Show Results

http://www.meatjudging.org/Contest%20Results/2008SouthwesternResults.htm

90Jackrabbit we practice at a couple of places.

Iowa Lamb Corp, Hawarden, IA
Tyson, Dakota City, NE
Cargill, Schuyler, NE
and of course the Meat Lab here on Campus

We use black pens these days.

[i_got_a_fever]

This is an email I got from the SDBIC.

Beef Council Proud of SDSU Meat Judging Team

PIERRE (February 18, 2008)—When the Meat Judging Team at South Dakota State University (SDSU) recently won two national competitions, team members and their advisers weren’t the only ones smiling. South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC) directors were pleased to see the team they help support with beef checkoff dollars succeed at such a high level.
“These students are the future of our industry,” says Bob Fortune, SDBIC President. “They are learning skills that they can put to good use in their future careers, and their ability to succeed at this level is impressive.”
The SDSU team won the Southwestern Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest in Fort Worth, TX, on February 2. On January 20, they won the National Western Livestock Show Meat Judging Contest in Greeley, CO. Both first-place finishes were historic for SDSU meat judging.
In 2008, SDBIC budgeted $10,000 to help support the team’s activities and travel expenses. SDBIC also supports the American Meat Science Association with a $5,000 general sponsorship for the nationwide judging program. “We’re proud to be a sponsor, and proud of the SDSU team’s wins and their efforts,” says Fortune, a Belvidere rancher.
Members of the team are: Robbie Helberg, Paso Robles, CA, Eric Hogle, Clarion, IA, Jace Hollenbeck, Harrisburg, Katelyn Milton, Brooklyn Park, MN, Amanda Nolz, Mitchell, Tyler Radke, Minnesota Lake, MN, and Tyler Urban, Lennox. The coach is Dustin Mohrhauser, and faculty adviser is Duane Wulf.

[JackJD]

You just can't buy this kind of publicity: This morning's Wall Street Journal has a feature article on meat judging and the lead paragraph along with much of the story is about SDSU's Jace Hollenbeck and the winning SDSU team!

Here's how the article starts:

GREELEY, Colo. -- It was cold, at 38 degrees, and noisy enough to require earplugs when Jace Hollenbeck approached the bloody competition floor. Tired from a week of 12-hour practices, he awaited the opening whistle with trepidation.
When the whistle blew, Mr. Hollenbeck says, he steadied himself for competition by remembering his coach's words of the night before: "We didn't come here to lose."

It's a great read and a reminder for me and I suspect others, that the meat-judging team, while not an attention-grabber like the football team or other athletic teams, is a verifiable sign about the quality we have at SDSU. Meat-judging has all of the hallmarks of any athletic competition but the competitors know this is no game ... it has direct relevance to a huge industry and the American food supply.

Here's the last two paragraphs from the article (I nominate Jace Hollenbeck and his team "Jackrabbits of the Year"):

When results were announced the next day, Colorado State finished second. "The most important thing is winning the national championship," Mr. Woerner told the team. "It's just for fun until then."
Mr. Hollenbeck didn't need any consolation. He won the individual title, largely on the risky hardbone call, propelling his team into first place. On the ride home, he said, "it felt really great to represent South Dakota State that way."

Hollenbeck and his Jackrabbit teammates are the best.

Here's the link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120527771216028593.html?mod=hpp_us_inside_today

[BTownJack]

That is a great article...great find JackJD!

[i_got_a_fever]

Yes thank you everyone, it's really a great feeling to have my name in the first sentence of a front page article of the Wall Street Journal. It is true, though, my teammates and I, we go in to the contest wanting to win and win it for SDSU. Before every contest we say a prayer and then say, "Go Big, Go Blue, Go Jacks." We truly are very honored to represent our University and the nationally recongnized College of Ag. and Bio. Sciences. We are trying to get the football helmet decals for our blue hard hats, but its becoming kind of a challenge.

[Jacks#1Fan]

I echo BTJ's congratulations to JackJD for finding this online article. It is a great read, and the video has a great ending...another JACKRABBIT victory!!

[1stRowFANatic]

Fabulous job, and good luck in the rest of the competitions.

[rabidrabbit]

Congrats IGAF!!!! That is publicity for SDSU that only comes from winning and consistently. Keep up Meat Judgers! I hope that having the finals on "home turf" will help with the comfort and angst before the finals.