The 98th National FFA Convention & Expo was held last week in Indianapolis, where our Dairy Evaluation Team delivered an incredible performance! The team placed 15th out of 41 teams nationwide, with the top 13 teams earning gold rankings.
“This is one of the most competitive contests in FFA,” said agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor Brooklin Rea. “Between 6th place and 15th place, there was only a 77-point difference. Being ranked silver is an achievement in itself, but getting that close to gold—especially with such young students—is even more impressive. Our team was competing against college freshmen majoring in dairy science. These students are some of the hardest-working and most talented kids in the nation, and we are proud to have them representing our school.”
Rea added, “We started competing last summer and placed 3rd in the state. This team continued to improve and outperformed more than 30 other teams at the state level to qualify for nationals. I don’t think people realize how big of an accomplishment that really is—and to have a sophomore and freshman place in the top 10 in the nation makes it even more exciting.”
Congratulations on these amazing achievements!
The convention had more than 73,000 members and guests throughout the week, featuring students from across the country.
Individual Highlights:
- Franklin Ziehm – 6th in the Nation!
- Jillian Robinson – 10th in the Nation!
- Danyelle Trinkle – 26th in the Nation!
- Madison Baldwin – 70th in the Nation!
“The convention was amazing,” said Franklin Ziehm. “The connections that I made with students from local schools on the bus trip out to Indianapolis was a great experience. I also spoke to students from across the country at the convention. Listening to the speakers at the convention taught me a lot about leadership. It was a mind blowing experience. When I got called for the top 10, I was blown away.”
Category Highlights:
- 4th in the Nation – Brown Swiss
- 2nd in the Nation – Holsteins
- 9th in the Nation – Jerseys
- 10th in the Nation – Overall Reasons
- 9th in the Nation – Team Practicum
“At first, the convention was very overwhelming,” said Jillian Robinson. “We were there with over 70,000 other students that all have the same passion. I was very awe-struck by the experience. It was so worthwhile getting to work with and speak to industry professionals and college professors. I also spoke with a lot of FFA alumni and discovered that they were in my shoes a few years ago and now their career is in the FFA industry. It is something that I couldn’t fathom.”
Robinson added, “I wasn’t ranked at the state level so I wasn’t sure what to expect at nationals. To have two kids from the same school ranked in the top 10 in the nation is incredible. Being only the third year as a chapter, it was an incredible achievement.”
Congratulations to our entire team on an outstanding performance and for proudly representing Cambridge FFA on the national stage!
