Van Buren’s 4H Land Judging Team Places Top 10 Nationally

Van Buren County’s 4H Land Judging Team placed 10th in the nation.

The team of Gracie Williams, Zoey Capps, Cheyenne Mihelic, and Megan Miller competed against 135 teams from 35 different states at the national competition last week.

The ladies arrived in Oklahoma on Tuesday. Coach Lance Smith said they had Wednesday to practice and get familiar with the landscape.

“We’ve been practicing for this contest since about November,” Smith said. “Because it is totally different from what we do in the state of Tennessee. Five different textures of soil. Different slopes. A lot of different things going on. Totally different card, different contest in a way.”

Smith said this had been an all-year event for the team. He said they started practicing in August 2022. The team won their district contest, placed second in the Middle Tennessee Regional, then placed second in the state which brought them to the Oklahoma Nationals.

Smith said Gracie Williams had the overall high score at the regional and second overall high score at the state. He said Williams and the other team members will not be contributing to future wins.

“Two of the girls are seniors, so they’ll be graduating in a couple of weeks,” Smith said. “Two of the girls are juniors but due to the way the rules are written up they cannot come back here and do this again.”

Smith said he does have another team ready to go next year.

“We’re pretty happy, pretty excited,” Smith said. “Well pleased with how this played out.”