Nov. 20, 2014

Twenty-three schools participated in the annual competition

PRATT – The 16th Annual State Finals ECO-Meet competition, which was held at the Rock Springs 4H Center on Nov. 6, proved to be an exciting and hard-fought contest. A total of 27 teams consisting of 103 students from 23 schools across the state participated at the competition, with an additional seven students qualifying as individuals in the two test events. Results from the 2014 state finals are as follows:

Overall Team WINNERS

1st place: Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) – Michelle Fan, Meagan Fortin, Justin Patterson, Devanshi Singh and team coach Eric Kessler. Each student competitor received a $300 scholarship.

2nd place: Shawnee Mission South High School Team B – Ellie Bartlett, Miah Gray, Rob Michels and team coach P.J. Born. Each student competitor received a $200 scholarship.

3rd place: St. Mary’s-Colgan High School Team A – Rachell Krall, Hannah Maus, Abby Normand, Sicily Stahl, and team coach Donna Maus. Each student competitor received a $100 scholarship.

Individual Event WINNERS

Mammalogy

1st place: Joe Petty, Shawnee Mission South High School - $200 scholarship

2nd place: Justin Patterson, Blue Valley CAPS - $100 scholarship

Wetlands/Aquatic Ecosystem

1st place: Joe Petty, Shawnee Mission South High School - $200 scholarship

2nd place tie: Sarah Tomtschik, Goddard High School - $100 scholarship

2nd place tie: Aaron Dlabal, Wilson High School - $100 scholarship

ECO-Meets are a series of quiz bowl-type competitions based on knowledge of Kansas plants and animals. Four events make up the competition, including a test on ecosystems in the state; a test on specific groups of animals; a scavenger hunt, where student teams look for plants found in the area and prove their identification skills; and an interpretive event, where the teams put together an informative and entertaining skit to relay their knowledge of animal/plant species to a team of judges and their peers.

Schools represented in the 2014 competition included: Blue Valley Center CAPS, Clay Center, Galena, Goddard, Goodland, Inman, Lakewood, Maize, Mission Valley, Palco, Pratt, Pike Valley, Salina South, Satanta, Shawnee Mission East, Shawnee Mission South, St. Mary’s-Colgan of Pittsburg, St. John’s of Beloit, St. Xavier of Junction City, Tescott, Tonganoxie, Wakefield, and Wilson high schools, as well as Salina Middle School and Wilson Junior High School..

For more information on the Kansas ECO-Meet program, or to view results from past events, visit www.kansasecomeet.org, or contact Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism wildlife education coordinator Mike Rader at mike.rader@ksoutdoors.com or (620) 672-0708.

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