UMD Soil Judging Team: Front: John Desmond. Middle row: Keegan Rankin, Chris Seitz, Tyler Witkowski, Sara Mack, Jessica Rupprecht, Jaclyn Fiola. Back Row: Chris Palardy (Asst. Coach), Martin Rabenhorst (Coach)
On Friday, October 25, the University of Maryland Soil Judging Team placed second in the Northeast Regional Soil Competition held near Frederick, MD, qualifying the team members for a chance to defend the national championship they brought home in 2013.
The University of Maryland entered two teams in the regional competition among a field of twelve from six universities including Delaware Valley College, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Rhode Island, Richard Stockton College of NJ, and Wilmington College of Ohio. In addition to Maryland’s A Team finishing in 2nd place, the Maryland B Team was close behind in 4th place. UMD also had three students place among the top ten in the individual portion of the competition.
During the week of practice leading up and the competition itself, students examined, described and interpreted the soil profiles and landscapes at nearly twenty sites. To “judge” a soil, students climb into 5-foot-deep pits for an hour and are tasked with describing the characteristics of the various layers that have developed in the soil, the ability of the soil to transmit and retain water and support roots, the geological history of the site, the long-term processes of soil development, the classification of the soil, and the potential challenges of using the soil for land uses such as building a home.
The overall combined team rankings during the regional competition put the Penn State University B Team in 1st place followed by the University of Maryland A Team in 2nd, the University of Rhode Island A Team in 3rd, the University of Maryland B Team in 4th, and Delaware Valley College in 5th.
Maryland, Penn State and URI will represent the northeast region in the National Collegiate Soils competition next spring to be hosted by Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Pennsylvania, where more than twenty teams representing seven regions from across the country are expected to participate.
Members of the UMD soil judging team advancing to the national competition include John Desmond (Environmental Science & Technology), Jaclyn Fiola (Plant Science), Sara Mack (Environmental Science & Policy), Keegan Rankin (Environmental Science &Technology), Jessica Rupprecht (Environmental Science & Policy), Christopher Seitz (Environmental Science & Technology) and Tyler Witkowski (Environmental Science & Technology). Graduate assistant Chris Palardy serves as the team’s assistant coach while ENST Professor Martin Rabenhorst, PhD, is the head coach.
