Local team takes first in Envirothon, several teams advance

Alleghany teams showed well at the fifth-annual Northwest Envirothon held Thursday at the Edwin H. McGee Natural Resources Conservation Center, located on Fairplains Road in North Wilkesboro.

One team, the Meritorious Martens of Sparta Elementary School, took first place in the Middle School Division, while Glade Creek had two teams in the top seven, including the Conservation Cowboys (fifth place finish) and the Fighting Foresters (seventh place finish).

In the high school division, two Alleghany teams were amongst the top seven, including the Agrimaniacs team, which took third place, and the Agrittude team, which placed sixth.

Alleghany was well represented in the competition, with teams from every county school. Alleghany fielded eleven teams in the middle school division. SES had two teams, Glade Creek had seven teams and Piney Creek had two teams. AHS fielded three teams.

Several other local teams performed well during the competition, but failed to reach the top seven places. The top seven high schools and middle schools in Area 2 will advance to the state competition in Burlington on April 11-12. National competition will be held at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md.

Five alternate teams from each division were selected for open slots that may be available at the state level. Teams will likely be chosen at random, officials said.

In addition this year, the highest scoring Future Farmers of America (FFA) team, regardless if the team is in the top seven, will advance to state.

Over 400 students participated in this year's event which was double the number who competed last year. There were 19 middle schools and seven high schools from 10 counties that participated in the Envirothon. Counties represented Thursday, from Area 2, which consist of 13 counties, were Alleghany, Alexander, Ashe, Burke, Catawba, Forsyth, Stokes, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin.

There were 60 teams that competed Thursday — 46 middle schools and 14 high schools teams. In addition, there were seven alternate teams, six middle schools and one high school. Some schools that participated provided an alternate team as a back-up, although the scores of these teams didn't count.

Advisors for each first place winning team in each division received a $200 check from Area 2 Soil & Water Conservation District to assist with travel expenses, lodging and meals and registration at the state competition. Financial assistance was made possible through several area sponsors.

Top Seven Teams Overall

The top seven high school teams were: First place, Evolution Gone Wrong, Freedom High School, Burke; second place, Tigers H.S., Fred T. Foard High School, Catawba, third place, Agrimaniacs — Future Farmers of America (FFA), Alleghany High School, Alleghany; fourth place, Vikings I, North Wilkes High School, Wilkes; fifth, Freaks of Nature, Freedom High School, Burke; sixth, Agrittude — FFA, Alleghany High School, Alleghany; seventh, Enviro-Eagles, Wilkes Central High School, Wilkes.

The top seven middle school teams were: first, Meritorious Martens, Sparta Elementary School, Alleghany; second, Eagles, Grandview Middle School, Catawba; third, Ruthless Raiders, East Burke Meritorious Martens from Sparta Elementary School wins first place in the middle school division during the Envirothon competition held March 27. Team members are, left to right, Larry Cox (sponsor), Josh Duncan, Ashley Billings, Nate Absher, Alyce Currier and Amanda Galyean.

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