HOWARD — Three East Knox FFA members competed in the Nov. 11 State Animal Management Career Development Event inside the Lausche Building at the Ohio Exposition Center in Columbus.
The Bulldogs placed 12th out of a group of teams from across Ohio. Team members were Ava Page, Peyton Harris, and Rhyan Williams. Individually, Page finished as the second place competitor in the state, just four points behind the first place individual.
There were 150 FFA members who qualified for the finals out of 1,267 who competed to reach that level. Harris placed 32nd overall and Williams finished 78th. The top 10 teams and individuals receive awards.
To qualify for the State finals the participants had to place in the top 150 scores in the online general knowledge test taken prior to the state event with questions over dogs, rabbits, gerbils, mice, chinchillas, hedgehogs, amphibians, and birds.
The top four scores count as the team score in the state finals and since East Knox only had three members place in the top 150 on the online test, their 12th place finish was with one less score than the teams ahead of them.
They were only 22 points out of the state top-ten.
At the finals members had to identify dog breeds, small and large varieties of birds, reptiles and amphibians, breeds of cats, rodents and miscellaneous animals, breeds of rabbits, bird feeds, dog and cat products and supplies, bird products and supplies, reptile and amphibian products and supplies, and small animal products and supplies.
Additionally, each contestant performed four practicums.
The practicums consisted of handling and sexing frogs, determining bird nutrition, explaining and evaluating nutrition requirements of hedgehogs, and recognizing and evaluating feline health requirements.
The purpose of the Animal Management Career Development Event is to provide students the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and skills associated with companion animals in the pet industry.
This is the fourth time that East Knox FFA has had a team in the State Animal Management CDE finals,with this 12th place finish being the highest they have placed. They were 18th the other three times.