of oral reasons. During contests, students are not allowed to talk to one another or utilize their cell phones. The first few contests of this season did not end with victory for this team. Instead, they lost by more than one hundred points at their first two major contests. Yet, the team persisted, kept working hard, and instilled trust in each other. “The adversity that our team faced only made us closer,” said Kolton Lake, OSU livestock judging team member and NAILE high individual award winner. “I truly believe it’s what elevated us and required each individual to step up to the challenge.”
Winning the acclaimed high individual championship and high team honors is more than just a belt buckle or title, Lake said. It is a culmination of a year’s worth of early mornings, long practices, and so many sacrifices paying off. “This win is a representation of our institution that I’m honored to be a part of,” Lake said. “When I look at who I am today, standing on the floor in Louisville with a national coaching staff, my teammates, and the championship, I can say without hesitation that livestock judging has been one of the most defining experiences of my life,” Lake said.
It’s similar to life—when it gets tough, just have faith, work hard, and keep moving forward, he added. Similar to Lake, Rhode said livestock judging has been the key driver of his personal and professional growth. While in 10 years many may not remember this team of OSU students winning the National Livestock Judging Championship, they will certainly remember the values, traditions, and standards of excellence this program upholds year after year. “The 2025-2026 team was unique in its grit and its ability to understand livestock production at a very high level,” Henley said. “More importantly, though, they embodied the core values that have made OSU livestock judging a legacy program: integrity, passion, loyalty, and work ethic.”
...they embodied the core values that have made OSU livestock judging a legacy program: integrity, passion, loyalty, and work ethic. level of expectation and pressure for every practice, workout, critique, and set of reasons given, Rhode said. Everything the team does not only reflects them but also everyone who has come before, he said. “This pressure has never been a burden,” Rhode said. “More so, it’s a reminder that I get to be part of something special— something I once looked up to as a kid just starting to judge a decade ago.” Rhode explains livestock judging requires students to be disciplined, mentally tough, and detail-oriented. It instills critical thinking, decision-making skills, and the ability to handle pressure, he added. Each contest the team competes in includes a mixture of 12 total classes of swine, sheep, goats, and cattle, along with eight sets
193
Powered by FlippingBook