AHS team No. 1 at Envirothon

The Environauts team from Alleghany High School placed first during the sixth annual Northwest Envirothon held last Thursday at the Edwin H. McGee Natural Resources Conservation Center, located on Fairplains Road, North Wilkesboro.

Also placing in the top seven in the high school division was the Trojanauts team from Alleghany High School.

In the middle school division, Alleghany County had a strong showing with the Conservation Cowboys of Glade Creek Elementary placing third, the Cool Conservationists from Glade Creek Elementary placing fifth; and the Meritorious Martens from Sparta Elementary placing seventh.

The top seven high schools and middle schools in Area 2 will advance to the state competition in Burlington on April 23-24. National competition will be held July 26-Aug. 1 in Buckhannon, W.Va.

Teams which placed eighth, ninth and 10th last Thursday may have an opportunity to compete at the state level because some schools in the eastern part of the state may not have seven teams participating in Burlington.

Over 300 students participated in this year's event from 10 counties. There were 55 teams that competed Thursday — 46 middle school and nine high school teams. Counties represented Thursday, from Area 2, which consist of 13 counties, were Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Burke, Catawba, Forsyth, Stokes, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin.

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. The Cougars from Alexander Central in Alexander County was the top FFA team.

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.

The top seven high school teams were: First, Environauts, Alleghany High School, Alleghany; second, Evolution Gone Wrong, Freedom High School, Burke; third, Freaks of Nature, Freedom High School, Burke; fourth, Tigers II, Fred T. Foard High School, Catawba; fifth, Eco-Eagles, Wilkes Central High School, Wilkes; sixth, Trojanauts, Alleghany High School, Alleghany; seventh, Tigers I, Fred T. Foard High School, Catawba.

The top seven middle school teams were: first, Sleepy Ducks, Southeast Middle School, Stokes; second, Eagles, Grandview Middle School, Catawba; third, Conservation Cowboys, Glade Creek Elementary, Alleghany; fourth, Water Striders, East Wilkes Middle School, Wilkes; fifth, Cool Conservationists, Glade Creek Elementary, Alleghany; sixth, Jaguars, Jacobs Fork Middle School, Catawba; seventh, Meritorious Martens, Sparta Elementary, Alleghany.

Organizers noted that there were only 32 points between first place and seventh place in the middle school division.

The North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the N.C Division of Soil and Water Conservation sponsored the area competition.

An envirothon is a problem solving natural resource competition for high school and middle school students.

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