The Jeff and Deb Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center hosted the ISU’s Block and Bridle Cyclone Classic and Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity Spring Showdown this past weekend with over 375 head of cattle and 500 people taking part in this annual event. Exhibitors traveled from all over the Midwest to participate and ranged in ages from 5 to 21. The event began with check-in on Friday, March 18th and the first-ever Cyclone Classic Skillathon! The Skillathon included 5 stations consisting of feed identification, heifer class to judge, beef cattle anatomy, breed identification and naming beef carcass meat cuts. There were 33 participants. Awards were given to the top 3 in Junior Division (13 and under) and Senior Division (14 and up). Iowa State University Alums, Dustin Smith and Adam Darrington, were judges for the senior and junior showmanship competition that took place on Friday night as well. This competition was sanctioned through the Iowa Junior Beef Breeds Association (IJBBA). The market animal show was on Saturday, March 19th and the breeding heifer show was on Sunday. Instructor and Livestock Judging Coach for Kansas State University, Chris Mullinix, was the Cyclone Classic’s judge for the event.
Results for the competition are as follows:
Top 5 Market Animals:
- Grand Champion – Keaton Otto
- Reserve Champion – Cade Austin
- 3rdOverall – Marin Eeg
- 4th Overall – Ellie Neil
- 5th Overall – Dalton Shanks
Top 5 Breeding Heifers:
- Grand Champion – Maddy Udell
- Reserve Champion – AJ Grimm
- 3rdOverall – Brooklyn Curtin
- 4th Overall – Maddy Udell
- 5th Overall – Ben Nikkel
Animal Science Senior and Block and Bridle Club member, Erica Sutton, said “ The purpose of our show is to let exhibitors compete against each other at high caliber and become more involved in the cattle industry by networking with others. This year was the first year we had our Cyclone Classic Skillathon and we wanted to quiz the kids on their knowledge and then go back through each station to talk with them about their answers. Exposing kids to information pertaining to feed samples, deciphering a good heifer from a bad heifer, identifying different beef cattle breeds and recognizing different meat cuts will stick with them for years to come. Our goal is to educate the youth and hope that they have a great experience. We want the kids to learn and make friends that will last a lifetime!”
Cattle and participants
Livestock Trailers at Cyclone Classic
Participant at Cyclone Classic