The Morton County 4-H livestock judging team placed seventh overall in the National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest in Louisville, Ky.

The team of Stetson Ellingson, Jameson Ellingson and Kelsie Jo Schaff of St. Anthony, and Sara Jochim of Flasher, with Sierra Ellingson of St. Anthony as the alternate, represented North Dakota at the competition. They were among 32 teams and 123 individuals participating in the contest on Nov. 15.

The team judged 11 classes of livestock, provided four sets of oral reasons for their decisions and answered two sets of questions. The team placed:

• Third in sheep and goats
• Ninth in oral reasons
• 10th in beef cattle
• 15th in swine

Individual scorers were:

• Stetson Ellingson - earned the distinction of being an All-American, with fifth place overall, eighth in sheep and goats, ninth in beef, 11th in performance beef cattle, 12th in oral reasons and 24th in swine
• Jochim - 25th in swine, 30th overall, 33rd in performance beef cattle and 45th in oral reasons
• Jameson Ellingson - 17th in sheep and goats, 29th in oral reasons and 45th overall
• Schaff - 29th in sheep and goats, and 53rd overall

Luke Keller and Jackie Buckley of Mandan and Ben Tokach of St. Anthony coached the team.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Nov. 22, 2016