The Eastern Oklahoma State College soils judging team won the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture national championship last week in Twin Falls, Idaho. The victory marks the second straight national championship for the program.

“We are so proud of these students for their hard work and successes over the past year,” said Larriann Livingston, Eastern soils judging coach and dean of the agriculture division. “It takes a lot of time and commitment to be successful at judging soil, and adjusting to a new environment and soil type across the country is a big feat. This team worked hard to learn and understand the Idaho soil and because of their perseverance, they came out on top.”

The entire team was made up of Oklahomans. The team members were Braden Boston from Adair, Maggie Cato from McAlester, Julia Coats from Konawa, Madison Hamlin from Broken Bow and Samantha Craig from Whitesboro.

Each team member earned Top 7 individual placings with Coats earning 1^st, Boston earning 2^nd, Hamlin earning 3^rd, Cato earning 6^th and Craig earning 7^th.

Seventeen teams and a total of 99 contestants competed at the NACTA judging contest.

Eastern will celebrate this victory with a reception in the E.E. Tourtellotte Student Center on Wednesday, April 24 at 3:30 p.m. The reception is free and the public is invited to attend.