Pictured L to R: Gabby Nemitz, beef superintendent; Jim Hennessy, swine judge; Jake Aanden, dairy judge; Zac Hall, beef judge; Jackie Buckley, Little I Agriculturist of the Year; Ashlyn Dilley, Little I manager; Goplen; Jade Koski, Little I assistant manager; Hope Willson, Little I queen; Joy Dahlen, Little I princess; Brooke Kunz, Little I princess; and Brian Schermerhorn, sheep judge.

FARGO, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Tyler Goplen, a junior in agricultural economics from Canby, Minnesota, was named the overall showman at the 96th Little International at North Dakota State University (NDSU) on Feb. 12.

Alexis Vanderberghe, a sophomore in animal science from Cleveland, North Dakota, was named reserve champion. Goplen is the son of Gary and Kari Goplen, and Vanderberghe is the daughter of Paul and Lori Vanderberghe.

The 96th Little International was organized by the NDSU Saddle and Sirloin Club at Shepperd Arena on the NDSU campus.

“The Little International Livestock Show is the largest student-run event on the NDSU campus, involving over 300 students,” said Claire Leiseth, Little I publicity chairman and a junior in animal science from Ada, Minnesota. “The show features showmanship classes of beef, dairy, sheep and swine as well as ham curing and public speaking contests.”

The overall showman is determined using a round-robin contest where each species’ overall showman is required to show all other species.

Winners of each species and other Little I competitions were:

Dairy

Champion — Maren Berntson, Kulm, North Dakota, sophomore in exercise science, daughter of Lowell and Carol Berntson

Reserve Champion — Sean Nichols, Sykeston, North Dakota, senior in accounting, son of Tom and Carrie Nichols

Beef

Champion — Goplen

Reserve Champion — Jaxon Deckert, Arena, North Dakota, junior in animal science, son of Justin and Carrie Deckert

Sheep

Champion — Brock Erickson, Stewartville, Minnesota, junior in animal science, son of Shawn and Megan Erickson

Reserve Champion — Caleb Hauck, Forbes, North Dakota, sophomore in agricultural economics, son of Keith and Janell Hauck

Swine

Champion — Vandeberghe

Reserve Champion — Kasi Holm, Ashley, North Dakota, sophomore in elementary education, daughter of Barry and Roxanne Holm

The show also included a novice division of showmanship for individuals who had never competitively shown their species. Novice winners were:

Dairy — Quinn Czeck, Holdingford, Minnesota, freshman in agribusiness, daughter of Tom and Melissa Czeck

Beef — Cole Lacko, Prior Lake, Minnesota, senior in agricultural engineering, son of Andrew and Michelle Lacko

Sheep — Brooklyn Kuzel, Lidgerwood, North Dakota, junior in animal science, daughter of Lori and Jody Kuzel

Swine — Jacklyn Pazdernik, New Salem, North Dakota, sophomore in nursing, daughter of Mike and Dana Pazdernik

Other contests that took place before Feb. 13 included:

Public Speaking – Students prepared a speech about this year’s Little I theme “The American Dream”

First — Hauck

Second — Stetson Urlacher, Regent, North Dakota, freshman in agricultural communications, son of Gregg and Mary Urlacher

Ham Curing — Top 10 individuals’ hams were auctioned off during the Little I night show

First — Gus Peterson, Hallock, Minnesota, senior in animal science, son of Noel and Heather Peterson

Second — Kuzel