In terms of competitive team success, 2021 was a stellar year for Texas Tech University's Department of Animal and Food Sciences with five national championships under their award-winning belts. Texas Tech's Meat Judging Team reaffirmed its dominance taking home its third straight national crown capturing the 2021 American Meat Science Association International Meat Judging Contest. 

Meanwhile, Texas Tech took home the title of American Quarter Horse Association Collegiate Horse Judging World Champions in the Senior College Division, while the university's Meat Science Academic Quiz Bowl Team won the school's 10th national championship at the 74th Reciprocal Meat Conference. 

Tech's Ranch Horse Team added another national championship to its resumé taking home the top national honor at the Hughes Trailers Collegiate Ranch & Stock Horse Championship, while the university's Wool Judging Team completed its competition season taking first place at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Intercollegiate Wool Contest to earn the program's fourth national championship.

“On behalf of the CASNR community, I offer my warm congratulations to the Department of Animal and Food Sciences on this remarkable achievement,” said Cindy Akers, interim dean of the Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. “These honors recognize the hard work and achievements of both our exceptional students and coaches.”

Separately, Chance Brooks, a professor and interim chair of the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, added, “This has been a banner year for competitive teams from the department, and I applaud the coaches and members on each of these five teams for navigating challenges and continuing to strive for honor every step of the way in their pursuit of national championships for Texas Tech University. I know these titles don't come easily, but they are critical in fulfilling the department's mission of providing experiential learning opportunities and empowering students to be successful in college and after graduation.”

• Meat Judging Team (Dakota City, Nebraska – Nov. 2021). This year's victory not only marked the third straight national crown for the Texas Tech team, which won the crown in 2019 and 2020, but also further cemented its status as the nation's premier meat judging team, capturing the program's 16th overall national championship. It also marks the third time in the history of meat judging a team has won three straight national championships, twice done by Texas Tech, which also accomplished the feat from 2011 to 2013. Texas Tech also won the national title in five of the last seven years. Coaches: Mark Miller, Taylor Schertz & Conner McKinzie.
• Horse Judging Team (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Nov. 2021). “I couldn't be prouder of the hard work that Christy and these five young women put forth, particularly this semester,” said AFS Professor Kelly Riccitelli. The team previously won national championships in 1981, 1986 and 2004. The Horse Judging Team teaches students to judge the conformation and performance of horses in Western and English disciplines while building public speaking, professional presentation and critical thinking skills. Coaches: Kelly Riccitelli & Christy Petry.
• Meat Science Academic Quiz Bowl Team (Reno, Nevada – Aug. 2021). Sponsored by JBS USA Food Company and the American Meat Science Association, the undergraduate quiz bowl contest was an intense and competitive event, featuring 88 undergraduates competing on 22 teams. This was the fifth national championship for Texas Tech in the last nine years, previously capturing titles in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019. Texas Tech won the title this year by beating Texas A&M University in sudden death in the finals. Coach: Chandler Sarchet.
• Ranch Horse Team (Amarillo, Texas – Apr. 2021). It was a very good year for Texas Tech's Ranch Horse Team. In April, the team captured the program's sixth national championship and first since 2016 by dominating three other teams in the competition at the Hughes Trailers Collegiate Ranch & Stock Horse Championship at the Tri-State Fairgrounds. In October, the Ranch Horse Red Team also garnered a World Champion Title - Division 1 Collegiate Grouping at the Stock Horse of Texas World Show & Derby at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene, Texas. Coach: Justin Stanton
• Wool Judging Team (Houston, Texas – Mar. 2021). The Texas Tech Wool Judging Team is composed of mainly first-year students and competes only during the spring semester. It has captured three previous national championships in its history, most recently in 2018. It also won national titles in 1956, 1986 and 2013. “High-level preparation, as well as confidence in themselves and their coaches, paid off when it mattered the most,” said AFS Professor Sam Jackson. Coaches: Sam Jackson, Jenna Frink & Emily Reiley.

CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Interim Chair and Professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu

0103NM22