The 19^th Annual Kansas ECO-Meet State Finals competition was held at the Webster Conference Center, near Salina, on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. The event hosted 29 high school teams from across Kansas to see which would win the top spot.

ECO-meets are quiz-bowl-type competitions that test high school students on their knowledge of Kansas plants and animals. Ten regional qualifying competitions were held earlier this fall to qualify teams for the state finals. More than 500 students competed in the regional meets all around the state.

The state meet includes four events: a test on ecosystems in the state – tallgrass prairie for 2017; a test on specific groups of animals – herpetology for 2017; a scavenger hunt – where teams look for plants found in the area and prove their identification skills; and the interpretive event – where the teams perform skits to show their knowledge of animal/plant species to a team of judges and their peers.

One hundred and eighteen students made up 29 teams and six individual qualifiers from 27 Kansas high schools, including Blue Valley North, Clay Center, Dodge City, Ell-Saline, Goddard, Goodland, Inman, Macksville, Maize, Miltonvale, Mission Valley, Palco, Pike Valley, Pittsburg, Pratt, Rock Hills, Salina Central, Salina South, Shawnee Mission South, St. John’s of Beloit, St. Mary’s-Colgan of Pittsburg, Stockton, Tescott, Thomas More Prep of Hays, Tonganoxie, and Wilson.

Students competed for bragging rights and scholarships:

Team winners: First Place– Shawnee Mission South High School Team A with members Lauren Bridson, Madison Goerz, Hannah Klein, Max Ramsay and coach PJ Born. Each student received a $300 scholarship. Second Place – Shawnee Mission South High School Team B with members Reagan Christie, Jack Householder, Harper Peck, Joseph Ward and coach PJ Born. Each student received a $200 scholarship. Third Place – Blue Valley North High School with members Ashmika Behere, Mira Bhagat, Victoria Gaa, Jackie Perry and coach Chris Ollig. Each student received a $100 scholarship

Individual Events:

Herpetology

First Place – Colton Farra, Dodge City High School A, received a $200 scholarship. Second Place – Cassie Wells, Dodge City High School A, received a $100 scholarship.

Wetlands/Aquatic Ecosystem

First Place – Victoria Gaa, Blue Valley North High School, received a $200 scholarship. Second Place – Sarah Tomtschik, Goddard High School, received a $100 scholarship.

The Kansas ECO-Meet committee would like to thank all of our sponsors at the state level. They include: the Kansas Wildscape Foundation, Barton Community College of Great Bend, the Chickadee Checkoff program, Friends of Cheyenne Bottoms, Friends of Milford Nature Center, Friends of Great Plains Nature Center, the Kansas Herpetological Society, the Kansas Ornithological Society, the Kansas Native Plant Society, Mid America Awards of Salina, Goodwin Sporting Goods of Hays, Manweiler Chevrolet of Hoisington, The Kansas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Smoky Hills Audubon of Salina, and the Wildlife Education Service of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT).

Assistance in putting on the State Finals competition came from the following sponsors:

K-State Extension, the Kansas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Great Plains Nature Center of Wichita, Dillon Nature Center of Hutchinson, Lakewood Discovery Center of Salina, the Kansas Wetlands Education at Cheyenne Bottoms, the Southeast Kansas Nature Center of Galena, Milford Nature Center of Junction City, Natural Resource Conservation Service of Manhattan, Smoky Hills Audubon of Salina, Wilson State Park, and KDWPT’s Wildlife Education Service. Many other private citizens also volunteered their time in making this event a huge success.

To see the results from all regional events and the state competition or to find out how your school can get involved in the Kansas ECO-Meet program, visit www.kansasecomeet.org or contact Mike Rader at mike.rader@ks.gov or (620) 672-0708.

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