‘Timber Fest’ at Penn College to Put Forestry in Spotlight
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Students from Pennsylvania College of Technology and five other institutions will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Spring Woodsmen’s Meet on April 9, part of a Timber Fest industry showcase at the college’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood.
Participants will compete in 16 event categories from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., including archery, ax throw, crosscut saw, log roll, pulp toss, pole fell, chain saw, water boil and speed chop. In addition to the host, students will represent Penn State Mont Alto, Allegany College of Maryland, Montgomery Community College and Haywood Community College in North Carolina, and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in Virginia.
The event is free and open to the public.
“The Penn College team has been practicing hard since January in anticipation of hosting the event on our home field. We have a great mix of student-athletes from majors throughout the college,” said Andrew Bartholomay, assistant professor of forestry. “If you’ve watched Timbersports competitions, you know how exciting they are. If you haven’t seen a meet, you’re in for an amazing show that will entertain the entire family.”
Penn College team members are Matthew R. Bartholomew, of South Williamsport; MaeKayla L. Brown, of Chambersburg; Kristin E. Cavanaugh, of Bellefonte; Noah L. English, of Bloomsburg; Paul M. George, of State College; Colleen E. Grove, of Spring Mills; Anthony A. Hampton, of Clearfield; Harley R. Heichel, of Wellsboro; Daniel J. Little, of Riegelsville; Noreen A. Mastascusa, of Lewisburg; Taylor C. Moyer, of Boyertown; and James C. Synol, of Bloomingdale, New Jersey.
Bartolomew, George, Hampton, Heichel, Mastascusa and Moyer are all enrolled in the college’s forest technology major. Brown is a pre-dental hygiene student; Cavanaugh and Little are heavy construction equipment technology: Caterpillar emphasis majors. English and Grove are enrolled in landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis; Synol is majoring in building automation technology.
The team is coached by Bartholomay and Erich R. Doebler, laboratory assistant for forest technology.
The event, last hosted by the college in 2010, will also feature a regional qualifier for the Timbersports Challenge conducted by sponsor Stihl Inc., the official chain saw of the competition, from noon to 1 p.m.
Penn College has chosen Synol to go head-to-head against other collegiate counterparts in four lumberjack disciplines: single buck, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop. Students from the aforementioned institutions, as well as Penn State and West Virginia University, will participate in the Stihl event.
The highest finisher earns a berth in the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Championship, to be held July 15-16 in Chicago.
The public is welcome to attend the competition, as well as to view displays of crafts and products made from Pennsylvania timber and to see demonstrations of forestry equipment.
Food and refreshments will be available. Stihl will display and sell a wide range of equipment and supplies, and there will be woodcarvers and sawmill demonstrations, Bartholomay said.
The day’s other sponsor is Forest Metrix, which provides mobile software for data collection by foresters and arborists.
To find out more about the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Spring Woodsmen’s Meet or the forest technology major in the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, call 570-327-4516.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
Participants will compete in 16 event categories from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., including archery, ax throw, crosscut saw, log roll, pulp toss, pole fell, chain saw, water boil and speed chop. In addition to the host, students will represent Penn State Mont Alto, Allegany College of Maryland, Montgomery Community College and Haywood Community College in North Carolina, and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in Virginia.
The event is free and open to the public.
![James C. Synol, a member of Penn College’s Woodsmen’s Team, will compete in the Stihl Timbersports Challenge during Timber Fest at the college on April 9. A building automation technology major from Bloomingdale, N.J., he was among team members providing a campus demonstration in March.](http://www.pct.edu/files/news/images/2016/04/JamesSynol1-240x300.jpg)
Penn College team members are Matthew R. Bartholomew, of South Williamsport; MaeKayla L. Brown, of Chambersburg; Kristin E. Cavanaugh, of Bellefonte; Noah L. English, of Bloomsburg; Paul M. George, of State College; Colleen E. Grove, of Spring Mills; Anthony A. Hampton, of Clearfield; Harley R. Heichel, of Wellsboro; Daniel J. Little, of Riegelsville; Noreen A. Mastascusa, of Lewisburg; Taylor C. Moyer, of Boyertown; and James C. Synol, of Bloomingdale, New Jersey.
Bartolomew, George, Hampton, Heichel, Mastascusa and Moyer are all enrolled in the college’s forest technology major. Brown is a pre-dental hygiene student; Cavanaugh and Little are heavy construction equipment technology: Caterpillar emphasis majors. English and Grove are enrolled in landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis; Synol is majoring in building automation technology.
The team is coached by Bartholomay and Erich R. Doebler, laboratory assistant for forest technology.
The event, last hosted by the college in 2010, will also feature a regional qualifier for the Timbersports Challenge conducted by sponsor Stihl Inc., the official chain saw of the competition, from noon to 1 p.m.
Penn College has chosen Synol to go head-to-head against other collegiate counterparts in four lumberjack disciplines: single buck, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop. Students from the aforementioned institutions, as well as Penn State and West Virginia University, will participate in the Stihl event.
The highest finisher earns a berth in the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Championship, to be held July 15-16 in Chicago.
The public is welcome to attend the competition, as well as to view displays of crafts and products made from Pennsylvania timber and to see demonstrations of forestry equipment.
Food and refreshments will be available. Stihl will display and sell a wide range of equipment and supplies, and there will be woodcarvers and sawmill demonstrations, Bartholomay said.
The day’s other sponsor is Forest Metrix, which provides mobile software for data collection by foresters and arborists.
To find out more about the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Spring Woodsmen’s Meet or the forest technology major in the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, call 570-327-4516.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.