Students from Gila Ridge High School took home the top awards recently at a state Future Farmers of America (FFA) competition.
Held at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus in Mesa, Ariz., students from Gila Ridge High School and Cibola High School competed against 20 other schools from around the state during the FFA Mid-Winter Career Development event.
The Gila Ridge FFA marketing plan team won first place in their category and will be advancing to the 2014 National FFA Convention and Expo, held in October in Louisville, Ky. The winning team consists of Madison Frame, Logan Osborn and Harley Wapler.
“They have worked very hard for the past three years, so I am glad all of their hard work paid off,” said Sarah Dyer, Gila Ridge FFA advisor. “This group has been together three years. They have spent numerous hours together to prepare their portfolio and presentation.”
She explained that the team is responsible for researching a company and making a plan to help improve the business.
Also at the state competition, Gila Ridge’s agricultural sales team earned fourth place. The team includes Madison Richards, Kylee Baldwin, Aaron Cadena and Teagan Welch.
Megan Cordery, also a student from Gila Ridge, placed first in novice extemporaneous public speaking while fellow classmate Madison Mellon placed in the top four in the area of agricultural information.
Gila Ridge student Melissa Galate received the third-highest individual score in veterinary science. Her veterinary science team placed ninth overall and also consisted of classmates Michayla Martinich and Kiana Lindstrom.