Home Team Wins Equipment 'Rodeo' During College Open House

A team of Pennsylvania College of Technology students recently won the 29th Precision Heavy Construction Equipment Rodeo, the third straight year in which overall honors were retained by the host institution.

The crowd-pleasing competition, which drew 52 participants from five schools in Pennsylvania and New York, was held Oct. 23 during a collegewide Open House. The "rodeo" is sponsored by student members of the Service and Operation of Heavy Equipment Association and is held on a recreation field at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood.

As a stubborn morning fog surrendered to a sunny autumn afternoon, Penn College students all of them majoring in heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis swept two events and placed in three others on their way to overall victory.

Winning the top slots in the Excavator Soccer Ball category were Jacob D. Osikowicz, Punxsutawney, first; Michael R. Robinson, Collegeville, second; and Nicholas D. Dangelo, Kane, third. Penn College alumnus Max T. Persun, representing event sponsor Wayne Township Landfill, presented Osikowicz with $100 for his first-place finish.

Dangelo finished first in the Rubber-Tired Backhoe Garbage-Can Pick, followed by Osikowicz in second and Casey P. Kelly, Nottingham, in third.

Other Penn College students to place were Tyler A. Davis, Beavertown, third in the Excavator Egg Drop category; Thomas J. Libitzer, Leechburg, second, and Osikowicz third in the Rubber-Tired Backhoe Pipe Pick; and Kelly third in the Excavator Baseball and Pipe event.

Osikowicz's combined performance won him a $750 scholarship as the second-highest overall operator.

Top honors went to Greg Butterworth from Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, who racked up three first-place finishes to take home a $1,250 scholarship and a $100 cash prize from Glenn O. Hawbaker in the pipe-pick contest.

In addition to Penn College and CPI, of Bellefonte, competitors represented Lebanon County Career and Technology Center, Lebanon; Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, Auburn, N.Y.; and WE-MO-CO Career and Technical Education Center, Spencerport, N.Y.

CPI finished second in total points; Cayuga-Onondaga was third.

Equipment was provided by Best Line Equipment, C.H. Waltz and Sons Inc., Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co. and 5 Star Equipment Co., with help from Lycoming County Resources Management.

For more information about the School of Natural Resources Management, visit online or call 570-320-8038.

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Photo by Carol A. Lugg, matriculation and retention coordinator, School of Natural Resources Management