Forest Technology students at Pennsylvania College of Technology "logged" a second-place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Woodsman Meet recently hosted by the College at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood.
In addition to the overall effort second only to Penn State Mont Alto Penn College students took nine first-place medals, five second-place honors and 13 thirds.
A first-place finish by Derek P. Bailey in the Horizontal Speed Chop qualifies him to apply for the next level of competition in the Lumberjack Sports Challenge sponsored by Stihl Inc. (the main corporate sponsor for the Woodsman Meet).
In addition to Bailey, who hails from New Tripoli, others earning gold medals were:
- Ax Throw Timothy R. Grillo, Philadelphia
- Dendrology Jennifer L. Vastine, Danville
- Pulp Toss for Accuracy Grillo; Eric S. Webster, Wellsboro; Seth A. Luchs, Ridgway; Jacob M. Mazzei, Hollidaysburg; Douglas J. Avellino, Kulpmont; and Abbalie L. Hutton, Pocono Pines
Second-place finishers and their events were:
- Women's Ax Throw Vastine
- Twitching Steven A. Bartas, East Smethport; Timothy P. Seidel, Lebanon; Avellino and Mazzei
Finishing third were:
- Women's Crosscut Saw Vastine and Hutton
- Pulp Toss for Accuracy Webster, Luchs, Mazzei, Avellino, Hutton and Eckert
- Log Roll Luchs, Eckert and Hutton
- Bolt Split Hutton
- Water Boil Eckert
Other schools participating in the meet were Allegany College of Maryland; Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, Clifton Forge, Va.; Haywood Community College, Clyde, N.C.; and Montgomery Community College, Troy, N.C.
The event also featured a reunion of Penn College Forestry program alumni. A total of 97 alumni (and 84 guests) registered for the event, including an alumnus from the first graduating class in 1969: Thomas Fuller. The Class of 1977 had the most attendees: 13. Twelve out-of-state Forestry alumni attended the event.
In addition to Stihl, other event sponsors were Brooks Lumber and Timber Harvesting, Central Columbia Future Farmers of America, PPL Corp. and Wheeland Lumber Co. Inc.
For more information about Forest Technology and other majors offered in the School of Natural Resources Management at Penn College, call (570) 320-8038, send e-mail or visit online.