TheEasternOklahoma State College soils judging team in Wilburton earned first place overall at the 2025 Collegiate Region IV Soil Judging Contest, hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Competing against two-year colleges from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico, Eastern delivered a dominant performance with 11 students finishing in the top 20 individually.

Eastern swept the top four individual spots and placed seven team members in the top 10, which included Ally Trotter of Vian, who took third place.

“We had a young team step into a very competitive regional contest and rise to the challenge,” said coach Kolby Cato. “Soil judging isn’t easy. It takes strong fundamentals, field experience and the discipline to work as a team. These students put in the work, and I’m proud of the way they represented Eastern.”

Hosted annually, the Region IV contest tests students’ ability to identify soil characteristics, classify soils according to USDA standards and make realistic land use and management recommendations. The contest is known for its rigorous, hands-on field evaluation format that prepares students for careers in soil science, agronomy, natural resources and environmental conservation.

Eastern’s win qualifies the team to advance to the 2026 National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest in the spring.

The Eastern soils judging team is part of the college’s Agriculture Division, which has earned a national reputation for developing high-achieving students through competitive judging teams and hands-on, career-driven education. The soils team continues Eastern’s long-standing tradition of success in agricultural academics and competition.