News

The Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) Livestock Judging Team travelled to Grand Island, Neb., during the last weekend in September to compete in the Aksarben Stock Show. The ninety year-old show was established by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, a philanthropic civic organization dedicated to promote the region’s agricultural heritage. The NEO sophomore team claimed fifth place overall and the freshman team claimed third place overall.

Along with the team success, sophomore Abigail Spindle and freshman Mattie Haynes earned first place overall in their division. Spindle, a sophomore from Miami earned her spot by strong placing in the beef and swine categories. Haynes, a freshman from Jay, Okla., finished first in her division by taking first in beef and top-five in sheep and goats, and reasons. The freshman team finished top-four in every individual category, led by Haynes.

The sophomore team was bolstered by strong finishes from Cagney Effling, Grant Hubbard, Kassidy Fletcher, and Alexa Montagne. The sophomore team had two top-five individuals, with Effling finishing fifth.

In total, between both sophomore and freshmen teams, NEO had seventeen individual top-ten finishes across the three species: swine, sheep and goats, and beef, and the reasons categories. “The contest provided exactly what the team needs at this point in the season; reward for things we’re performing well at and a renewed focus on necessary improvements,” said Head Coach Taylor Graham. “We’ll be working diligently on what needs done, but I’m certainly proud of our work and success this past weekend.”

For more information about NEO livestock judging, contact Graham at taylor.graham10@neo.edu.

Results: Freshmen Sheep and Goats 4th – Mattie Haynes 4th Overall Team Freshmen Swine 10th – Daniel Goodwin 3rd Overall Team Freshmen Beef 1st – Mattie Haynes 4th Overall Team Freshmen Reasons 4th – Mattie Haynes 3rd Overall Team Freshmen Overall 1st – Mattie Haynes 3rd Overall Team Sophomore Sheep and Goats 2nd – Kassidy Fletcher 4th – Cagney Effling 7th – Alexa Montagne Sophomore Swine 3rd – Abby Spindle 5th – Grant Hubbard 9th – Cagney Effling 5th Overall Team Sophomore Beef 1st – Abby Spindle 3rd Overall Team Sophomore Reasons 10th – Kassidy Fletcher 3rd – Cagney Effling 4th Overall Team Sophomore Overall 1st – Abby Spindle 5th – Cagney Effling 12th – Kassidy Fletcher 5th Overall Team