A team of Iowa State students pulled out a second-place finish in the first year of the National Tractor Pull contest in Illinois earlier this month.

The competition was held May 31-June 1 in East Moline, Ill., and was sponsored by The American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Mort Boyd, the team’s adviser, said the competition featured three different areas, including the building and testing of a quarter-scale tractor and an oral presentation. Finally, written reports focused on the concept, design and problems encountered while building the tractor, Boyd said.

When building the tractors, all of the student teams started from scratch except for tires and an engine, which were donated by a corporate sponsor. A quarter-scale tractor is about the size of many lawn-and-garden tractors, according to a press release.

The team from ISU placed first in the actual tractor-pulling contest but didn’t do as well in the oral and written competition, earning team members an overall second-place finish.

Within the individual pulling contest, ISU placed first in all three of its pulls.

Boyd said the team obviously placed much more emphasis on the design of the tractor, but they now know for next year that the presentation and report are equally as important.

A total of 17 universities from all over the nation, California to Maryland, competed in this inaugural competition, Boyd said.

The team began its preparation for competition in the early fall and worked all the way through spring semester until the competition, Boyd said. The team this year consisted of all seniors, but is not limited only to seniors, he said.

Josh Gnewuch of Albert City, Brad Herman of Urbandale, Shawn Kenny of Schaller and Matt Oliver of Long Grove made up the team. Herman is an agricultural systems technology student, and the others are agricultural engineering students.

Boyd said he was very proud of the team, since it was the first year of a national competition and they placed second.

“They did a tremendous job,” Boyd said. “Hats off to them.”

Plans are already underway for the competition next year, and the team has been selected.

However, Boyd said he will no longer be the adviser to the project because he retired at the end of May.