FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two teams of four students recently competed in the Department of Animal Science’s Academic Quadrathlon. The competition was made up of four events: a quiz bowl, a written exam, oral presentation and a hands-on lab practicum. The quadrathlon, which was held at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center, was spread across two days. At the end of the first competition, each of the teams won two of the four events resulting in a tie.

On Dec. 4, a tie breaker quiz bowl was held to determine which of the two teams would represent the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science at the Southern Sectional Academic Quadrathlon in Georgia in January. The tie-breaker was comprised of three rounds, and each team won a round. Each round included questions covering all aspects of animal science from genetics to meat science and dairy, including equine and small animal questions. In the end, the winning team won by one question.

 “It was obvious that these students were well prepared,” said Janeal Yancey, staff adviser for the team.

The students that will represent the university are Hunter Burnett of Greenbrier, Caleb Crelian of Dayton, Lyndsie McGee of Quitman and Lensey Watson of Decatur.

In Georgia, they will compete against universities from the southern U.S. The four parts will include a lab practicum at the University of Georgia in Athens that has historically required students to demonstrate skills including maneuvering a truck and livestock trailer, identifying feedstuffs, administering drugs, labeling and using equipment, testing milk and eggs for safety and quality, restraining cats and dogs for veterinary examination and evaluating meat cuts. After the practicum, the students will be given a written exam that may require them to balance feed rations, calculate genetic probabilities, determine carcass values, and test general animal science knowledge.

From Athens, the students will travel to Atlanta to compete in the oral presentation portion of the contest. Here, they will be given a list of current topics in anima science and one hour to prepare a 10-minute oral presentation. These topics may cover antibiotic use, animal handling practices, and legislation relevant to animal agriculture. Finally, the team will compete in a quiz bowl competition where they will compete head-to-head against other universities on their knowledge of animal science.