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By Angela Hayes | Special to the Advertiser

The state champion Thorsby High School Land Evaluation Team is headed to nationals.

The team won first place at the Central District competition on Feb. 24 and was named state champions at the March 9 State Land Evaluation.

Nationals will be held May 2-6 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The team of Carson Littleton, Cody Lucas, Jason Brackner and Jarrett Posey, and led by agriscience teacher Brian Lucas, will travel to compete for the title of National Land Evaluation champions.

Studying since the seventh grade, the current 10th graders have been working hard to hone their skills.

“They been working really hard,” Lucas said. “They’ve really bought in to what I’ve been trying to teach them.”

Judging four sites—crop, forest, pasture and homesite—on several factors, the students will need to evaluate various features like the texture of the soil by feel, its depth, permeability, flow of drainage and slope.

They will also determine land class and the best course of action to take concerning timber plots.

“I think it will offer a great experience, being able to go out and see the country and see how different the Oklahoma landscape is from Alabama’s,” Littleton said. “I’ve been able to take away invaluable information from land judging for when I’m ready to build my own home.”

Learning life lessons is a benefit echoed by Littleton’s fellow team members.

“This is a goal we’ve been working for since seventh grade,” Cody Lucas said. “We’ve learned that if you work hard enough at something, it will eventually pay off.”

“I’ve learned that when you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” Brackner said. “It’s a great honor being able to compete with other states.”

“I think it’s going to be a really awesome experience,” Posey said. “I’ve never been to Oklahoma, and to be able to represent my state in a national contest is something others don’t get a chance to do.”

“We’re so very proud of them and Mr. Lucas for all their hard work as they represent Thorsby, the state of Alabama, and the Chilton County School district,” Thorsby Principal Russ Bryan said. “They’re wonderful boys, great students, and we just want them to understand how very proud we are of them.”

To help raise money for the associated travel costs of going to Oklahoma, the student-run FFA farm is pre-selling 1-gallon buckets of strawberries for $12 each. To reserve your bucket and support the state champs, call (205)280-4884.