Penn State Takes Two Spots in Top 10 at GCSAA Turf Bowl

March 15, 2010 in 2-year, 4-year, Awards

The Penn State Turfgrass Program finished in 5th and 9th spot out of the 67 teams competing in this year’s GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl in San Diego, CA. Due to the generosity of John Deere, the top ten teams earned cash prizes ranging from $300 to $4000.  The two teams from Penn State finishing in the top 10 earned a total of $1000 for the Turf Club. Iowa State took home the 1st place trophy.

Matt Naedel team captain in prior years now coaches the students as they prepare for the exam. The teams start in September and meet two evenings per week to study such things as irrigation, calibration, turfgrass and pest ID and control. Varying turfgrass professors and industry representatives provide guest lectures. Naedel notes, “The students put in a lot of their own time. They are very dedicated and work very hard and I give them all the credit.” The students would also like to thank those that took time out of their schedule to help prepare them for the competition: Dr. Andrew McNitt, Dr. Peter Landschoot, Dr. Max Schlossberg, Dr. Al Jarret, Dr. John Kaminski, Ms. Dianne Petrunak, Mr. Steve LeGros, Mr. Jeff Borger, Mr. Matt Naedel, Mr. Matt Neri, Dr. Al Turgeon, Dr. Dave Huff, and Mr. Danny Kline.

Penn State was able to take 16 students to the national GCSAA conference in San Diego due in large part to the generosity of TORO who donated funds toward the student’s travel expenses. Students were able to take advantage of many activities specifically geared to them including a student forum, student lunch, and many educational sessions.

Check out photos from the GCSAA Turf Bowl.

Click here to view the Top 10 Schools.