College Park, Md. — Students from the University of Maryland (UMD) placed fourth out of 79 teams at this year’s Turf Bowl, an intercollegiate academic competition that tests students’ technical and professional knowledge of the turfgrass industry.

The Turf Bowl challenges students in a wide range of subject areas, including turfgrass management, pest management, and soil science.

To prepare for this highly competitive contest, Geoff Rinehart, lecturer in turfgrass management at the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA), and his team of students met weekly during the fall semester, reviewing material the students learned in classes and doing practice quizzes.

“This is extra learning and extra preparation that’s going to help them professionally,” said Rinehart. “They are getting deeper exposure to the material and learning how to work as a team under pressure.”

The strong performance earned the team $8,000 in prize money, which will be reinvested into student professional development, including travel to future conferences and competitions.

“It feels great to know that our team played a role in the future education of turfgrass students,” said Owen Scott.
Several team members mentioned how proud they felt knowing their hard work paid off.

“The most rewarding part of competing was being able to work as a team and working through problems with contrasting viewpoints and coming to a consensus that we all agree on,” said Carson Thomas. “I felt like I learned new things within the turf industry from my teammates as well as new perspectives from different golf courses and sports facilities.”

The team lauded the support that they received from the faculty and administrators at the IAA.

“None of this would have been possible without the help of Geoffrey Rinehart, Joe Poulas, and Carole Dingess who all contributed to the organization and studying that led up to the Turf Bowl competition,” said Owen Scott.

The recognition is particularly meaningful for a smaller program competing against nationally prominent universities.

“It puts Maryland on the national map,” said Rinehart. “That kind of recognition is good for our students, our college, and the program as a whole.”

Find more news from the Maryland Turfgrass Council in MTC Turf News magazine > https://theturfzone.com/mtc/?ascat=74&sub=issue&issue_id=9905&rti=true&dep=3