SONORA –Val Verde County’s senior wool judges were named top judging team in the nation during the 50th annual National 4-H Wool Judging Contest held in Sonora.
The contest and its sister contest, the 10th annual FFA Wool Judging Contest, were the premier events highlighting a number of youth contests held in conjunction with the 73rd annual Sonora Wool and Mohair Show June 15-17.
The Val Verde County 4-H team’s score of 1,800 topped the second place Crockett County team by 40 points. Winning team members were Reese Perry, Cole Perry, Sydney Dingler and alternate Nick Acosto. Coaches were John Allen, Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent in Val Verde County, and rancher Bill Zuberbueler.
The National 4-H Wool Judging Contest’s high-point winner was Val Verde County’s Reese Perry with 630 points.
Third-place team honors went to the Goshen County, Wyo. 4-H wool-judging team.
Winning the National FFA wool judging contest with a total score of 1,821 points was the Water Valley, Texas FFA team coached by Aaron Renfroe, the school’s agriculture science teacher. Team members were Clayton Fisher, Kolt Lee, Will Smith and alternate Ryan Easterly.
The Wall, Texas FFA team took second-place honors with a score of 1,791 points followed by Carrizozo FFA from Carrizozo, N.M. with 1,724 points.
High-point honors for the FFA contest went to Corey Schwartz of the Wall FFA team who scored 627 points.
The national 4-H and FFA wool-judging contests are two highlights of the Sonora Wool and Mohair Show. The show features youth judging contests and wool and mohair fleece competitions. The event is sponsored by the Sonora Lions Club and Sonora Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Sonora Wool and Mohair Company and AgriLife Extension.
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