For another year, the tension has ended and the 2012 Dairy Challenge Platinum teams have been crowned. Spanning 32 universities from across the U.S. and Canada, 128 new alumni of the national contest will be entering the dairy industry this May. After completing full-scale evaluation on one of four dairies in the Roanoke area, students presented their findings to a panel of industry judges.

The four First Place teams were (in vertical rows):

Dairy A – University of Guelph: Coach John Walton along with team members, Robyn Walsh, Mark Wynands, Wade Deaken, and Chris Bartels.

Dairy B – Ohio State University: Coach Maurice Eastridge, Kati Stevens, Kevin Jacque, Melinda Miller, and Emily Stayduhas.

Dairy C – UW-Platteville: Coach Chuck Steiner, Michele Belling, Kelli Fischer, Adam Kolb, and Adam Cook.

Dairy D – Cornell University: Coaches Betsey Howland and Mike Van Amburgh, Jordan Fisher, Ariel Garland, Daniel Durfee, and Ted Christoph.