FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas soil judging team placed eighth in the national contest to finish in the top 10 for the second straight year.

The team competed in the 57th annual National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest hosted by Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois, in April.

Overall, Arkansas finished eighth of 24 teams and 14th in the team-judged pit portion of the competition. The eighth-place finish is Arkansas' best in 16 years.

Team members include Becky Anderson, Matt Sena, Tyler Durre, Ryder Anderson and Diego Della Lunga, all students in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences.

Durre was the high individual scorer, placing sixth in the nation out of 93 competitors.

The team is coached by Kris Brye, CSES professor of applied soil physics and pedology.

"The team battled sun, rain, cold and windy weather, and water in the pits," said Brye. "But we had a great four days of practicing. We saw first-hand the tremendous variability in the soils the glaciated region of northern Illinois has to offer."

The team earned a spot in the national contest by placing second in the Region IV Collegiate Soil Judging Contest hosted by Texas Tech University in Ruidoso, New Mexico, during the fall. Ryder Anderson and Rebecca Anderson were first and second, respectively, in the individual standings while Durre was ninth and Sena 14th.

Only one soil judger returned from last year's team, which won the Region IV championship and finished ninth in the nation.

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.