Members of the Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen Team show their medals after taking first place during the Mid-Atlantic Woodsmen’s Meet on April 7. They are, back row, left to right: Derrick Wenrick, Chris Neufen, Cullen Cameron, Owen Neff, Silas Dishong, Brady Williams, Trenton Bechtel, Kayla Knauss, Shaina Walker, and Mary Shriver; and front row, left to right: Craig Houghton, Forestry Program coordinator and lecturer and Woodsmen Team adviser, Garrett Hamilton, Mike Gibbens, Levi Negley, Alexa Rudisill, Marc Stafford, Levi Canon, and Forest Technology Associate Teaching Professor Beth Brantley.
MONT ALTO, Pa.― On April 7, the Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen Team took first from among the best collegiate lumberjacks in the region at the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Spring Woodsmen’s Meet in Troy, North Carolina. Montgomery Community College hosted the day of timbersports that also featured the STIHL Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Qualifier. The other participating schools included Haywood and Montgomery Community Colleges from North Carolina, Dabney S. Lancaster Community College from Virginia, and Allegany College of Maryland.
“Our 16-person team of forest technology, nursing, and wildlife and fisheries science majors competed all day in the rain and in the Carolina mud to bring home the traveling trophy,” said Craig Houghton, forest technology instructor and program coordinator.
Penn State Mont Alto’s Levi Negley placed third in a four-event competition of the Pro and Collegiate Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers of the Stihl Timbersports Series ― the nation’s premier lumberjack competition. Seven schools were each represented by a student competitor and for third place, Negley won a new racing ax and safety equipment from Stihl.
“All 16 student competitors were awarded medals for top-three performances in 13 different events,” said Houghton.
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.
The individual and team event winners are:
- Stihl Collegiate Timbersports Series – third, Levi Negley
- Dendrology – first, Brady Williams; third, Marc Stafford
- Log Roll – second, Silas Dishong, Garrett Hamilton, Kayla Knauss, and Derrick Wenrick
- Orienteering – second, Cullen Cameron
- Axe Throw (Men) – secon, Owen Neff
- Single Buck – third, Mike Gibbens
- Pulp Toss Accuracy – first, Levi Negley, Mike Gibbens, Owen Neff, Shaina Walker, Derrick Wenrick, and Mark Stafford; second, Garrett Hamilton, Kayla Knauss, Trenton Bechtel, Cullen Cameron, Silas Dishong, and Brady Williams
- Pulp Toss Distance – first, Mike Gibbens
- Pole Fell – first, Levi Negley and Mike Gibbens
- Bolt Split (Men) – second, Mark Stafford; fourth Derrick Wenrick
- Bolt Split (Women) – third, Alexa Rudisill; honorable mention, Mary Shriver
- Pole Climb (Men) – third, Levi Canon, fourth, Trenton Bechtel
- Pole Climb (Women) – second, Shaina Walker
- Cross Cut (Men) – first, Trenton Bechtel and Owen Neff; second, Chris Neufer and Garrett Hamilton
- Cross Cut (Women) – second, Kayla Knauss and Alexa Rudisill
- Cross Cut (Jack and Jill) – second, Levi Negley and Alexa Rudisill
- Chainsaw (Women) – second, Kayla Knauss; third, Alexa Rudisill
- Chainsaw (Men) – fourth, Levi Canon
- Speed Chop (Men) – first, Levi Negley; fourth, Levi Canon
- Speed Chop (Women) – second, Shaina Walker
