After winning both the National Western and the Sioux Empire collegiate contests, the ISU Livestock Judging Team is on a roll with yet another win at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The team took part in the contest Feb. 28, with 110 other individuals making up 18 other teams. In the Alternate Division, 50 individuals participated.

As a team, Iowa State placed third in the horse division, fifth in sheep, second in swine and second in cattle. The team won in placings and placed second overall in reasons. Iowa State won the contest with 4,703 points.

“Of course, I am really proud of them. Their effort was outstanding,” said Ben Bobell, assistant coach of the team. “Their strength was in their depth and consistency — that’s how you win. Your team is only going to be as good as your weakest link, and they were really good the whole way through.”

The trip itself is also an important part of the experience, said Bobell, senior in agricultural studies.

“Everybody thinks that judging is just about the contest, but the most valuable part may be the trip because of the people you meet and the different parts of the livestock industry you see that the people in the Midwest don’t normally see,” he said.

Other methods that helped the team in the contest were keeping it simple and sticking to basic livestock judging principles, said Dustin Ford, junior in animal science.

“As a whole, I think the contest was pretty challenging. I think having the past work ethic and basic coaching helped us to make smart decisions in tough classes,” he said.

Individually, team members placed as follows:

* Horses: Tucker Janssen, junior in agricultural studies, placed second; Joel Morrical, junior in animal science, placed third; and Nick Berry, junior in animal science, placed 14th.

* Sheep: Janssen placed 10th and Ford placed 12th.

* Swine: Ford placed third.

* Cattle: Ford placed first and Berry placed second.

Berry won the placings division. In reasons, Ford placed second and Janssen placed fourth. Overall as individuals, Ford placed second, Berry placed fifth and Janssen was 12th.

In the Alternate Division, Jason Schneider, junior in animal science, placed eighth as an individual.

This contest took different preparation because in this case, the team members judged animals that they weren’t very familiar with, said Eric Kinsley, livestock judging coach. The team members had to judge horses, Brahman cattle and slick-shorn steers for the first time.