GILLETTE, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming has a meat judging team. Not only that, but the team recently made a very impressive showing during a fall performance.
That’s according to a release from the University of Wyoming, which stated that the UW team finished in the top 10 overall in four different contests it participated in during the fall season. In two of the tournaments, they achieved critical individual and team success.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever worked with a group of students that have been so closely connected,” says McKensie Phillips, UW collegiate meat judging team coordinator. “This year especially, they were all very enthusiastic and motivating for each other. They really committed to figuring out where their performance was and improving it.”
The team performed admirably during the third contest of its season. It finished third in lamb judging at the Cargill High Plains Meat Judging Contest in Friona, Texas. Five different judgers earned a perfect score in the specifications division. Those judges were Kaitlyn Brandenburg, Aida Hester, Joe Mills, Hailey Rasmussen and Sarah Turner. Brandenburg also placed second in beef grading, third in overall beef and first in the placings division. This earned her a 10th-place finish overall.
During the final contest of the year, the team competed at the American Meat Science Association’s International Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest, which took place in Dakota City, Nebraska. There, the team won third in lamb judging, and two different individuals finished in the top 10. Aida Hester earned seventh place and Sarah Turner finished ninth overall.
The release stated that the 2024 team finished its final season of collegiate meat judging and, now, members of the collegiate judging teams are eligible to compete for one year, beginning with a spring season and concluding in the fall.
“At the end of the fall season, judgers from each collegiate team honor one of their members who exemplifies the work ethic, teamwork and supportive attitude of Rachel Hamilton, a former program director of the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Program,” the release states. “The UW meat judging team nominated Stella Ordahl as UW’s Rachel Hamilton Memorial Spirit Award winner for her positivity, enthusiasm and dedication.”
The 2024 collegiate meat judging team is made up of Jordan Anderson, Centre Hall, Pennsylvania; Kristy Benjamin, Boulder; Kaitlyn Brandenburg, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Aida Hester, Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado; assistant coach Tessa Maurer, Arvada, Colorado; Joe Mills, Peyton, Colorado; Stella Ordahl, Savage, Minnesota; Emi Ramirez, Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Hailey Rasmussen, Estes Park, Colorado; Koy Stanley, Midland, Texas; Sarah Turner, Cheyenne; and Samantha Waller, Basalt, Colorado.
To learn more about the UW meat judging team, contact McKensie Phillips at 307-766-2334 or via email at mckensie.phillips@uwyo.edu.
