The Fresno State soil judging team celebrated a third-place finish in the recent Region 6 contest at Arcata to qualify for the national competition, which will be hosted April 21 to 26 by Iowa State University.
Junior Juan Magana (Firebaugh) led the team with a seventh-place finish overall, and was followed by junior Tanner Ozuna (Hanford, 12th), senior Curtis Lefler (Hanford, 16th), junior Adrian Gutierrez (Delhi, 21st) and freshman Emma Fabbri (Bakersfield, 25th) in the individual standings.
The event featured 45 student competitors who were judged on their soil pit observations, evaluations of physical and chemical properties, and suggestions for agricultural and engineering applications. Other teams that earned national invitations from the event included Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (first place) and New Mexico State University (second). Event host Cal Poly Humboldt and UC Davis also competed in the five-team event. The Fresno State team is coached by plant science faculty member Michael Sowers who helped guide the team to national trips in 2018 (15th), 2017 (20th) and 2016 (18th).
