FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas soil judging team finished ninth in the country at the 2016 National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest April 3-8 at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

The team from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences recorded the first top 10 finish for the U of A in 15 years. Team members are Rebecca Anderson, Marya McKee, Tim Moore and Lynnette "Dave" Smith. Kris Brye, professor of applied soil physics and pedology in the Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, is the coach and instructor.

Individually, McKee finished sixth in the nation.

"Our team has worked its way up slowly in the past seven years or so, from not being very competitive at the national contest to where we finished ninth overall," said Brye. "We've built some continuity from year to year with experienced judgers still a part of the team while bringing in less-experienced judgers to learn from those who have been through a contest. I'm very proud of their efforts, particularly of Marya McKee, who finished sixth individually out of more than 90 total students. In a different year, when an international soil judging contest would have been held, Marya would have qualified to represent the U.S. on one of two teams to compete internationally. It's unfortunate that there is no international contest being put on this year."

The teams practiced for four days before moving into competitive rounds with individual and team judged pit portions of the championship April 7-8.

"Nationals are more challenging than regionals due to better competition and more items to worry about on the score card, plus traveling to a different region in the U.S. and learning its soils in four days is tough enough in itself," said Brye. "However, after four days of being immersed in soil pits to practice, and getting calibrated to the professionals describing soils and making interpretations in a new area, it's amazing how much the students caught on to. I've been lucky to have a great group of students willing to travel and participate in regional and national contests in recent years. Missing a week of school is definitely not trivial and it's definitely not a vacation."

Arkansas advanced to the national championship for the sixth straight time. The team won the Region IV title in the fall at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. In the regional contest, McKee was the top individual scorer while Moore was 10th, Anderson 12th and Smith 15th.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.