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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Team hopes for top spot at state
Davenport's first-team FFA squad is shown with its first place banner at the Yelm Nursery Landscape contest last weekend. Davenport's Nursery Landscape team has won its first two competitions this year and has its sights set on a first-place prize at state in March.
DAVENPORT - The local high school FFA team has come within one or two places of a first-place finish at state in Nursery Landscape the last two years, but hasn't been able to notch that first-place spot to qualify the school for the national competition. This year's team, which has handily won its first two contests, is hoping to change that.
The team took first place at the Yelm Nursery Landscape Contest last weekend. The school was in first place in three of the five portions of the contest, while four students were top 10 individually.
Senior Ryan Utley took first place, while eighth-grader Tanner Zaugg, one of two non-high schoolers at the event, was second. Chase Zellmer was third and Shelby Hargrave took fifth.
"We've worked for a long time on this," FFA advisor Todd Hargrave said. "The contest usually takes about two years to practice to get to a place where you can compete for state. So far, we've been about 400 points ahead of the next closest team."
Davenport competed against eight other schools last weekend in Yelm. Students participated in five events, including four individual and one team portion. The four individual events included general knowledge, landscape estimating, a hands-on activity and a written practicum.
"The knowledge test (is my favorite) because that's my bet part and the I.D. portion is a lot of fun," Utley said. "Especially with the plant I.D., you're using the class for an actual purpose. It's fun to travel and know all the plants we're seeing."
The team event involves a 20-minute problem solving activity relevant to the landscaping business.
"This event wasn't a district qualifier," Hargrave said. "It was a career development event...the goal is to introduce students to a particular career and have to practice things that they might do in that field."
Davenport also won its first event at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver earlier this school year.
"If we win in Snohomish March 24 at state, we go to Indianapolis the last weekend of October," Hargrave said. "We've had an FFA chapter since 1939...it does not appear any team at least in the last 50 years that Davenport has had a team at nationals."
The team has been practicing twice a week to prepare for this goal, and will be upping that total to three teams a week. That's in addition to the hours of study students are putting in at home.
"We're about 300 points behind where last year's Sedro-Wooley team, the state champion, was," Hargrave said. "If we can get to Nationals we want to be a top 10 team."
Davenport's next competition is scheduled in Wapato Feb. 24, though a lack of participating schools may prevent that event from happening. The state competition in Snohomish is scheduled for Friday, March 24.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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