Penn State News: Alumni Updates
Penn State Students Take First and Second Place in 2020 STMA Student Challenge
On
January 15, four teams of Penn State turfgrass students competed in the 2020 Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) Student Challenge at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thirty-one teams, representing 2-year and 4-year turf programs in colleges and universities from across the country, participated in the annual event sponsored by STMA in partnership with the SAFE Foundation, Hunter Industries, and Ewing. Penn State teams took first place in the in the 4-year division and second place in the 2-year division. The other two Penn State teams placed within the top 10 in the 4-year division. Winning teams received a cash award, a plaque, and medallions for each team member. Dr. Ben McGraw oversees training students for the STMA Student Challenge, as well as the Golf Industry Show’s Turf Bowl. The teams begin studying in September and meet regularly to study irrigation, sprayer and spreader calibration, turfgrass and pest ID/management, and other subjects. Sixteen Penn State students were able to travel the annual STMA conference in West Palm Beach due in large part to funds donated by the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council and the Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization. Students took advantage of many activities at the conference, including a student forum, student lunch, and diverse educational sessions.
Fall 2019 Graduation
C
ongratulations to the graduating class of Fall 2019! A complete list of the turf students who received their degrees in December is available below. We can’t wait to see what they achieve next! Turfgrass Science Collin Domblesky Andrew King Jackson Kramer Riley Morgan Micah B. Osenbach Daniel Palmiscno Ian M. Patterson
Gregory Scott Pinto John G. Shupp Zachary Thomas Smith Adriaan Smit Van Der Merwe Joshua Lee Warren Andrew Wilfahrt Matthew Ryan York
Turfgrass Science and Management Joseph David Berggren Andrew Cook Tyler Edward Dalton Trever Allen Gill Kevan Reid Kenna
Jacob S. Miller Nicholas James Penwell Bradley Proud Caleb Michael Robinson
16 Pennsylvania Turfgrass • Spring 2020
First and second place STMA Student Challenge teams. From left to right: Page Alcorn (4-yr team), John Schupp (4-yr team), Micah Osenbach (4-yr team), Ian Patterson (4-yr team), Cody Sander (2-yr team), Jeremy Eggeman (2-yr team), Paul Baich (2-yr team), and Daniel Allison (2-yr team). On far right of photo: Dr. Andy McNitt and Ms. Dianne Petrunak.
Sixteen Penn State students, representing the four teams that competed in the 2020 STMA Student Challenge in West Palm Beach, Florida.
