Black Hawk College East Campus Wins 17th Sweepstakes Award

Black Hawk College East Campus has secured the Sweepstakes Award at the 2026 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference, triumphing at Illinois State University. Over 50 BHC students competed in 13 contests between April 22nd and 25th, bringing home the top prize for a 17th time. Their performance included first-place team honors in Horse Judging, Hippology, Knowledge Bowl, Livestock Judging, Livestock Management, Soils, and Veterinary Science. Standout individual efforts came from students such as Talisa Thomas, Ellie Ellis, Olivia Shike, and Logan Goerks. Congratulations to this year’s students and coaches for continuing BHC’s legacy of excellence.

Black Hawk College Sweepstake Wins

BHC won the Sweepstakes Award in 1981-85, 1989, 2009, 2014, 2016-19, and 2022-25. The contest was not held in 2020 and 2021.

Dedicated Coaches at Black Hawk College East Campus

Black Hawk College is recognizing the dedication and expertise of its coaching staff across various agricultural disciplines. Grace Angotti guides Dairy Cattle Judging, Knowledge Bowl, and Livestock Judging teams. Dr. Blake Bloomberg lends his knowledge to Dairy Cattle Judging, Livestock Judging, and Livestock Management. Aaron Callahan leads in Hippology, Horse Judging, and Parliamentary Procedure. Drew Cotton takes charge of Ag Education and Agribusiness. Janet Johnson steers teams in Ag Computers and Vet Science, while Cole Wright oversees Precision Ag and Soils. Their commitment continues to shape student success and strengthen Black Hawk’s national reputation in agricultural education.

Top team and top individual results:

Dairy Cattle Judging
Team – 2nd
Top individual placings:
4th – Faith Lortie
6th – Emily Fritz
10th – Kelsey Zepp
11th – Hannah Miller

Hippology
Team – 1st
Top individual placings:
1st – Talisa Thomas
2nd – Ellie Ellis

Horse Judging
Team – 1st and 2nd in Halter, Performance, Reasons and Overall
Top individual placings:
1st – Ellie Ellis
2nd – Talisa Thomas
3rd – Allison Copland

Knowledge Bowl
Team – 1st
Team members – Karsyn Cocanower, Logan Goerks, Grace Hingtgen, Hannah Miller, Olivia Shike and Kynseth Zubrod

Livestock Judging
Team – 1st
Top individual placings:
1st – Kashen Ellerbrock
4th – Hannah Miller
7th – Caleb Kruse

Livestock Management
Team – 1st
Top individual placings:
1st – Olivia Shike
3rd – Hannah Miller
Additional team members – Karsyn Cocanower and Kynseth Zubrod

Precision Ag
Team – 3rd
Team members – Logan Goerks, Luke Nelson, Chase Ragar and Reuben Knepper

Soils
Team – 1st
Top individual placings:
1st – Logan Goerks
2nd – Rachel DeRycke
3rd – Chase Rager
4th – Luke Nelson
8th – Emily West

Veterinary Science
Team – 1st
Top individual placings:
2nd – Grace Cruise
3rd – Lydia Barnett