Texas Tech’s Academic Quadrathlon Team got its spring season off to a strong start, securing a second-place win at the American Society of Animal Science’s Southern Regional Academic Quadrathlon Competition. The event, which included a laboratory practicum, written exam, oral presentation and quiz bowl, featured a dozen universities and was held over the weekend (Apr. 5-6) in Arlington Texas.
Texas Tech team members included:
- Jeanine Fassbender, a senior animal science major from Los Alamos, New Mexico
- Paige Lemenager, a junior animal science major from Hudson, Illinois
- Libby Mosley, a senior animal science major from Jacksboro, Texas
- Matthew Self, a senior animal science major from Nacogdoches, Texas
The team is supervised by Whitney Crossland, an assistant professor within the Department of Animal & Food Sciences. In addition to the Academic Quadrathlon Team, she serves are faculty advisor to the TrUE Scholars Undergraduate Research Program, and is co-advisor to the Block & Bridle Club.
An experienced competitor in her undergraduate career, Crossland’s current research program focuses on beef cattle health and nutrition. Her work has featured antibiotic alternatives for the control of liver abscesses in the feedlot, liver ultrasound throughout the feedlot phase, and characterizing the bacterial DNA isolated in both healthy and abscessed beef livers.
According to the ASAS website, the academic quadrathlon contest is a learning experience that tests the students’ practical and scientific skills in all areas of animal science., the laboratory practicum requires the team to demonstrate physical skills working at stations involving animal species or a disciplinary area such as nutrition or reproduction.
For the written exam portion, team members have 60 minutes to answer animal production or product questions. The oral presentation requires students to choose an animal agriculture topic and make a 15-minute presentation. Finally, the quiz bowl is organized as a double-elimination tournament beginning with toss up questions that must be answered individually, followed by collaborative bonus questions allowing teams a chance to earn extra points.
CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Professor and Chair, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-3517 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu
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