Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen Team takes first place in spring meet

MONT ALTO, Pa. ― On April 15, the Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen Team took first at the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Spring Woodsmen’s Meet in Cumberland, Maryland. This annual competition is the culmination of the season each academic year.

The Mont Alto team held a commanding lead throughout the day, finishing with a total of 136 team points. The host school, Allegany College of Maryland, finished second with 124 points, and the defending champions, Haywood Community College, finished third with 102 team points.  Individuals from the Mont Alto team placed in the top three in nearly every event at the competition.

“We all worked very hard and were able to put it all together on the day of the meet. During the competition, everyone was focused on their events and if they made a mistake, they were able to look past it and continue to perform as best as they could. We were very excited to win and bring the trophy back to Mont Alto,” said Gabriel Brandt, team captain.

“I am extremely pleased with the performance of our team this past weekend. They have worked extremely hard all year to achieve this goal. Each team member prepared diligently and performed to their highest potential when it mattered most. I couldn't be prouder of this group of students," said Alex Storm, forest technology program lecturer and coach of the Woodsmen Team.

Competitions were paused during COVID-19, causing the Mont Alto team strain. Upperclassmen were no longer on-site to help guide the current team, Brandt said. The team, under guidance from Storm, focused to create a strong team to compete in this year’s meet.

“For the team, it is a good feeling to have the trophy back in the trophy case and be able to walk down the hallway and see the trophy and know that you were a part of making this happen,” Brandt said.

Throughout the day, participants competed in both individual and team timbersports events, including dendrology, log roll, orienteering, axe throw, single buck, pulp toss accuracy, pulp toss distance, pole fell, bolt split, pole climb, cross cut, chainsaw and speed chop.

Other teams in attendance included West Virginia University, Penn State University Park, Mountain Gateway Community College, and Montgomery Community College. This is the first overall team win for the Mont Alto Woodsmen Team since 2018.  

“I am also personally grateful for the friendships that were made during my time on the Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen Team,” Brandt said. “The environment on the team is friendly, inviting and welcoming to new members. It is a good place to build lifelong friendship, while doing physical activity and blowing off the stress from school. I would like to conclude by saying I am grateful for the experiences and opportunities that I have gotten from the woodsmen team.”

Any student is welcome to join the Woodsmen Team during the academic year.

The individual and team event winners are:

First place results:

Women's Axe Throw - Rachel Merrill

Standing Block Chop - Gabriel Brandt

Pulp Toss for Accuracy - Seth Laudermilch, AJ Gable, Devon Ford, Blake Showers, Rachel Merrill, Andrew Sallie

Men's Bolt Split - Blake Showers

Women's Bolt Split - Annie Hoyt

Men's Crosscut - Karol Jones, Devon Ford

Women's Chainsaw - Annie Hoyt

Women's Singlebuck - Rachel Merrill

Second place results:

Team Log Roll - Annie Hoyt, AJ Gable, Devon Ford, Karol Jones

Men's Underhand Chop - Gabriel Brandt

Women’s Pole Climb - Zoe Zentz

Pole Fell - Devon Ford, Gabriel Brandt

Third place results:

Dendrology - Karol Jones

Orienteering - Andrew Sallie

Men's Axe Throw - Justin Nichol

Women's Underhand Chop - Zoe Zentz

Women's Crosscut - Zoe Zentz, Rachel Merrill

Jack and Jill Crosscut - Zoe Zentz, Devon Ford

Men's Singlebuck - Gabriel Brandt

Waterboil - AJ Gable, Andrew Sallie