Turfgrass Science Team in Top Five in National Turf Bowl

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The U of A Turf Team placed fifth in the national Turf Bowl. Team members included, from left, Jeff Caperton of Fort Smith; Nathan Tompkins of Edmond, Okla.; Will Mears of Shawnee, Kan.; Scott Hendrickson of Nixa, Mo.; Josh Flowers of Arlington, Texas; and Ethan Charles of Garfield.

A team of four undergraduate turfgrass science students from the department of horticulture in Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences finished in the top five at the 18th annual Collegiate Turf Bowl Competition in Las Vegas, which was the best ever for a U of A team. A second U of A team of two students placed 35th out of the 87 teams from 44 universities in the competition. The fifth place team earned a cash award of $700 for the U of A Turf Club.

The fifth place team members were Scott Hendrickson, Nathan Tompkins, Will Mears and Josh Flowers. The other team members were Jeff Caperton and Ethan Charles. The students were enrolled in a one-hour special topics class to prepare for the Turf Bowl exam. The instructors and team coaches were doctoral candidates Joey Young and Dan Strunk. In addition to a written exam, students also were required to identify turfgrasses, seeds, weeds, insects and soil texturing.

Young said the first place and fifth place teams were separated by only 33 points on a 522 point exam. "This high score maintained our dominance over other Southeastern Conference universities," Young said.

"This was an impressive accomplishment for these students, and the national recognition for our turf program will be beneficial," Young said. "Three students will graduate in May. Luckily, we will have three strong team members returning."

Next year's competition will be in San Diego. Sponsors of this year's event included John Deere, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and Golf Course Management magazine.