One undergrad team takes first place, plus one student nabs top score
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State University’s Weed Science teams had a successful showing against eight other universities at the regional North Central Weed Science Society Collegiate Weed Contest held on July 27.
A total of 80 undergraduate and graduate students competed in the competition hosted by Iowa State University at its Field Extension Education Laboratory near Ames, Iowa.
Two undergraduate teams and one graduate team represented K-State. One of the undergraduate teams took first place among all undergraduate teams. Members of that team (all from Kansas) included: Keren Duerksen, junior from Newton; Nicole Sudbeck, senior from Seneca; and Sarah Zerger, senior from Cheney.
Sudbeck took 1st Overall Undergraduate Score in the individual awards. Sudbeck was also the individual event winner for written calibration problems and Duerksen was the individual event winner for identification of herbicide symptomology.
The team also placed 1st in the Undergraduate Team Sprayer Calibration Event.
Members of the second undergraduate team (all from Kansas) were Jace Bowen, junior from Topeka; Trent Frye, senior from Belleville; and Peter Bergkamp, sophomore from Cheney.
K-State also had the 3rd place Graduate Team among all graduate student teams, with the following members: Jeffrey Albers, Oakley; Garrison Gundy, Halstead; Larry Joe Rains, Harrisonville, Missouri; and Nathaniel Thompson, Manhattan. Albers won the Farmer Problem solving event. All were from Kansas except Rains.
Coaches were Anita Dille, Kevin Donnelly, and Dallas Peterson, professors of agronomy.
The four events in the contest were weed identification; farmer problem solving; written calibration problems and team sprayer calibration; and identification of herbicide symptomology.
