7 FFA teams head to state

Dublin FFA student brought in a slew of awards over the weekend with seven teams headed to state being held at Texas Tech University, Tarleton State University and SamHoustonStateUniversity over the course of the next two weeks.

To get to this level, students had to qualify to the area level which means they had to beat out more than 30 schools, both large and small, FFA organizers said.

“We are so proud of all of our students’ dedication to their CDE of choice. They have dedicated hours, days and, [for] some of our students, years perfecting their skills in their contest. We are ecstatic to see our students get the recognition they so deserve and have worked hard for. Not to mention all of the students who tried out for teams and put the work in, but may not be on the team this year. The future of our chapter is bright and we look forward to seeing our teams go to state for many years to come!” FFA advisor Sophie Hayhurst said.

The Wool Team comprised of Frida Villicana, Jackie Gibson, Rosie Perez and Juhl Sorrells are headed to state after finishing fifth in area and second in district.

The Dairy Cattle Team comprised of Bailey Watson, Caden Vanbebber, Frida Villicana and Victor Ruiz will be traveling to compete at state after receiving fifth place at area (competing against 32 other teams). Individually, team members also competed and Watson received third place and Vanbebber received 20th place out of 115 students.

The Milk Quality Team, who were district champions and placed third in area out of 20 teams, will be advancing to state with team members Vanessa Pantoja, Paul Adams, Jayden Rojas and Tatum Babkowski. Individually, Adams placed ninth, Pantoja placed 17th and Rojas placed 18th and Babkowski 35th out of 104 students. At district, Adams received first place, Pantoja received third place and Rojas received fourth place.

The Entomology Team, for the second year in a row, was area champion, as well as district champion. The team, comprised of Mariana Ortiz, David Greene, Anabel Phelps and Alma Holguin, are headed to state. The members of the team were also made up of the top four individuals with Ortiz receiving first, Greene placing second, Holguin placed third and Phelps placed fourth out of 104 students.

The Homesite Team comprised of Paige Wilson, Jackie Gibson, David Hernandez and Nomi Thompson will be competing at state.

The Marketing Plan Team comprised of Mariana Ortiz, Nichole Foster and Navalee White will be competing at state.

The Cotton Team comprised of Maryli Garcia, Dom Dominguez, Candy Rodriguez and Skyler Morones will be competing at state.

Both the cotton and marketing plan teams advance straight to state, so photos of those teams will be featured in future editions of The Dublin Citizen.

Though not advancing to state, the Floriculture Team placed 24th out of 37 in area and sixth out of 10 in district. Team members include Daniella DeLeon, Kimberly Sevilla, Brecedes Rojas and Fatima Mendez.

The Horse Team was 60th out of 67 in area and 10th in district. Team members are Rosie Perez, Jake Southall and Paige McNutt.