RIVER FALLS, Wis. — Students from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls earned first-place team honors at the Mid-America Collegiate Horticultural Society (MACHS) Conference Horticulture Competition held Oct. 16-17 at Iowa State University.
Eight UWRF students competed in four core divisions central to horticultural education and industry readiness: plant judging, woody plant identification, herbaceous plant identification and a general knowledge examination.
The UWRF team captured the overall championship based on combined team scores in a series of horticulture knowledge and judging contests. The four-member team included senior horticulture majors Savina Felsch of Minnesota City, Minn., Emma Olson of Whitewater, Zack Biskupski of Farmington, Minn. and Madeline Boyer of Westlake, Ohio, a double major in horticulture and animal science.
In addition to the team championship, three society members earned individual awards. Felsch won the general knowledge and judging divisions and was named the overall individual champion. Olson placed third in the general knowledge division and Myla Welle of Wausau, a sophomore horticulture major, earned second place in plant judging.
David Zlesa...