Contributed STRONG SHOWING — Jefferson County Joint Vocational School Small Animal Science students placed second at the Ohio FFA Veterinary Science Competition in Columbus on April 19. JVS FFA members include, from left, front, Trinity McGilton, Kloey Biddle and Madison Brown; and back, Mekenzie Everhart, Raven Holloway and Ainsley Roach.

BLOOMINGDALE — Six students in the small animal science program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School placed second at the Ohio FFA Veterinary Science Competition in Columbus.

Emily Moore, SAS instructor and FFA co-adviser, was joined by seniors Raven Holloway, Kloey Biddle and Ainsley Roach plus juniors Madison Brown, Trinity McGilton and Mekenzie Everhart at the Ohio State Fairgrounds on April 19.

The students performed demonstrations and showcased their knowledge during the state event while a total of 46 teams and 129 students were on hand. Moore said the competition calculates the four highest individual tallies to obtain the team score, but members may also place individually.

At the conclusion, Holloway earned 13th place individually with McGilton at 17th, Roach at 22nd, Brown at 28th, Everhart at 35th and Biddle at 42nd.

“I’m very proud,” she added. “At the state competition, the students must be able to identify parasites, large and small animal breeds, veterinary equipment and farm animal equipment. They also must demonstrate veterinary clinical skills and different restraint methods used on large and small animals. They do not know what skills or demos will be required of them until they get into the competition in front of the judge.”

The students qualified for the state contest by completing an online exam at the end of March, where they placed within the top 150. About 900 students statewide took the exam, which included topics on animal management, anatomy and physiology, diseases and nutrition of large and small animals. After learning they were selected, the group worked to prepare for the competition.

“The students had only one week to prepare for states and a lot of the prep they had to do on their own time,” Moore said.

This is the third time the JVS FFA chapter has attended, and Moore was pleased to see the students’ growth.

“We have qualified twice before,” said Moore. “The first time was only my second year teaching and we were seventh, then we missed a few years because of COVID.

“Last year, I took five students which included Raven, Kloey and Ainsley and we got seventh again. I am thrilled. The students worked hard, practiced and studied together. It was really a team effort.”