U of A Student Teams Place 2nd, 19th at Collegiate Turf Bowl

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The U of A Turf Bowl teams finished second and 19th out of 68 teams at the 2013 national competition. Pictured (left to right) are Joey Young, Travis Russell, Will Mears, Grant Harrison, Nick White, Ethan Charles, Seth Smith, Nathan Tompkins, Doug Karcher and Makynna Jorgensen.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas students excelled at the 19th annual Collegiate Turf Bowl competition this month in San Diego, finishing in second and 19th places in the competition among 68 teams representing 35 universities. The competition consisted of a four-hour exam that covered turfgrass science, business management, communication, environmental management and leadership.

The second place finish was the best in history for an Arkansas team and earned a cash award of $2,000. The large check is currently on display on the third floor of the Plant Sciences Building on campus. The second-place team members were Ethan Charles, Grant Harrison, Will Mears and Nathan Tompkins. The 19th-place team consisted of Makynna Jorgensen, Travis Russell, Seth Smith and Nick White.

The University of Massachusetts team won the competition while two teams from the University of Maryland and Iowa State University rounded out the top five.

The success at this year’s Turf Bowl is likely due to many hours of study and a veteran team consisting of students who had competed previously, said Douglas Karcher, associate professor of horticulture. Students prepared for the Turf Bowl by enrolling in a one-hour special topics class, which was instructed by Karcher and Mike Richardson, professor of horticulture. In addition, graduate students and local golf course superintendents worked with the students on various topics.

This year’s event had a total purse of $10,000 and was sponsored by John Deere Golf and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Next year’s Turf Bowl will be held at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Fla.