Fifteen teams competed in the National 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl contest in Louisville, Ky., this past weekend. Participating states spanned from Washington to Georgia and as far north as Massachusetts.

Wisconsin marched through the Midwest, defeating Illinois, Minnesota, and then Iowa, landing them in the semifinals with New York, the top seed in the contest, based on the written test from the night before. It was a close match, with Wisconsin edging out last year’s champions. This sent the Empire State to the consolation bracket, where they would have to win their way back to the finals to meet Wisconsin again. New York successfully defeated Virginia to create the rematch. This time, New York outperformed the Badger State, forcing a winner-take-all event as the final competition of the day.

The contest not only includes the buzzer round, but it also features two-part team questions where the four members can discuss their answers prior to the team captain delivering them to the judges. New York held the advantage by five points of the team question portion in the final match before participants grabbed the buzzers.

The teams were locked in a close one during the buzzer round, as one team’s correct answer was matched by the other team shortly after. This back and forth dynamic also provided bonuses for each team, and different teammates successfully answered questions. However, as the end of the 20 questions was nearing, Wisconsin pulled away with three correct answers in the final three questions.

At this point, the team points are added to the toss-up buzzer points (and any bonuses). They are then added to the written test scores from the night before, which are unknown to the contestants and the audience. This adds some excitement as the points of the three phases are finally read aloud to the contestants and the spectators. The final score of the contest resulted in a Wisconsin win – a “WINsconsin” victory as the four young ladies liked to announce. It was the fourth victory for Wisconsin in the past 14 years. Team members included Amery High School juniors Darby Trent, Kallie Andersen, Suki Gatica, and Evelyn Braaten. They are coached by dairy producer Gwen Dado and Patti Hurtgen.

"It has been a joy to watch this team take their dedication to each other and build it into a national championship. They complement each other and have worked diligently for two years to accomplish this championship. I am honored to be their coach,” shared Dado.

At the evening awards banquet, all teams were recognized and awards were presented to the top teams. Following Wisconsin and New York was Virginia in third and Michigan in fourth, then honorable mention went to Georgia and Iowa.

Contestants were also honored for their individual score on the written test. New York had four participants in the top 10, as did Wisconsin. Wisconsin and New York used those valuable points to their advantage in the earlier rounds.

1. Randall Albertson, New York 4-H

2. Josiah Benjamin, Georgia 4-H

3. Evelyn Braaten, Wisconsin 4-H

4. Hadessa Adsit, New York 4-H

5. Darby Trent, Wisconsin 4-H

6. Alexis Schultz, New York 4-H

7. Owen Brofee, Pennsylvania 4-H

8. Ethan Palmer, Iowa 4-H

9. Kallie Andersen, Wisconsin 4-H

10. Lilly Mills, New York 4-H

11. Suki Gatica, Wisconsin 4-H

As an interesting side note, the 4-H team from Alabama attends a special high school for the blind and visually impaired. It was the first time that this school had students represented. They live at the school during the year so they can take full advantage of the specialized student programming available. The written test was read to them by volunteers, and they received a verbal five-second time warning during the buzzer rounds because they were not able to see the clocking winding down. Their participation was a wonderful opportunity to interact with youth that “see” the dairy world in a different light. Friendships were forged, and the world got a bit smaller.

The contest was sponsored by ADM Animal Nutrition, American Dairy Science Association, Diamond V, Kentucky Dairy Development Council, National Dairy Shrine, North American International Livestock Exposition, Select Sires, and W.D. Hoard & Sons Company.