FFA Sale of Champions honored

The San Benito CISD Board of Trustees and Administration recently recognized students taking top honors at this year’s Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show. The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show “Sale of Champion” winners are under the direction of instructors Eddie Garcia, Jorge Guerra and Romana Cantu.

The school district boasts the following “Sale of Champion” honors after local students competed at the Mercedes event: Reserve Breed Champion steer, Reserve Grand Champion hog, Reserve Breed Champion hog, Reserve Grand Champion rabbit, Grand Champion poultry, Reserve Grand Champion poultry, and Breed Champion lamb.

The top winners earning recognition are as follows:

David Muñoz
Reserve Grand Champion (Hog)
Reserve Breed Champion (Steer)

Haley Rios
Reserve Breed Champion (Hog)

Zeke Mares
Reserve Grand Champion (Rabbit)

Caitlan Gonzalez
Grand Champion (Poultry)

Natalia Medina
Reserve Grande Champion (Poultry)

Deandra Anguiano
Breed Champion (Lamb)

Three seniors, including Muñoz, Medina and Anguiano, are proud of their stellar year.

Muñoz said the hard work and dedication paid off, and after eight years of participation, he’s thrilled that he walked away with the top prize of Reserve Grand Champion with his hog project and Reserve Breed Champion with his steer project.

“I’ve never won at the (Mercedes) livestock show,” he said. “My time came, and all of the hard work paid off.”

Medina explains how she balances her school and extracurricular activities.

“It really takes a big part of you and you really need to be prepared. It’s a lot of dedication between your school work and other extracurricular activities. It’s a lot of time management,” Medina said. “For me, it was year-round. I struggled, and I got through.  It’s a definite honor. I’m very privileged to have been able to do this, especially because this is my senior year. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication.  I’m very blessed that I was able to have this opportunity.”

Another senior, Deandra Anguiano, who earned Breed Champion honors with her lamb project, said that the time and commitment paid off in the end.

“I was excited.  I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said.

Alejandro Garcia, the FFA President and top winner at a previous competition, said that working with his steer project involves walking, taming, and halter breaking the animal.

“It’s not always the same routine,” he said.

Other winners earning recognition for their “Sale of Champions” include:

Hog
Angelin Cruz, first place
Noah Gomez, first place
Alfredo Rodriguez, first place
Samantha Cantu, second place
Cassandra Cruz, second place
Ostyn Guajardo, second place
Christian Cavazos, third place
Brianna De La Fuente, third place
Ramiro Gonzalez III, third place

Steer
Christian Cavazos, first place
Alejandro Garcia, second place
Jose Garcia, third place

Lamb
Alexia Correa, third place

Poultry
Ramiro Gonzalez III, third place

Goat
Natalia Medina, first place
Victoria Agado, third place
Oneida Guerra, third place

Rabbit
Denae Muñoz, sixth place (overall)

Plant
Joseph Partida, tenth place (overall)

AgriScience teacher and FFA advisor Eddie Garcia noted, “These livestock shows are truly an extension of the classroom which benefit students in various ways. They (students) learn responsibility, hard work, and determination.”

San Benito FFA advisors include, from left, Jorge Guerra, Romana R. Cantu and Eddie Garcia.

Shown are students receiving awards, including ribbons and top prizes after competing at various livestock show competitions, including the major one at the Mercedes Livestock Show.

The San Benito CISD Board of Trustees and Administration recently recognized “Sale of Champion” winners taking top honors at this year’s Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show.