UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Recently, students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences earned top honors at two national turfgrass industry competitions, claiming multiple first-place finishes and $25,000 in awards.
Students in the college’s four-year bachelor’s degree program in turfgrass science and two-year golf course turfgrass management program compete against students from other universities in knowledge-based competitions. The competitions are held at the Sports Field Managers Association and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America annual conferences and trade shows.
For the events, teams of up to four undergraduates take part in exams covering various aspects of turf management, including turfgrass identification, soil science, irrigation and pest management.
In January, 12 students representing three Penn State teams traveled to compete in the Sports Field Managers Association Student Challenge held in Fort Worth, Texas. The conference includes educational sessions, a trade show, hands-on seminars and networking events for sports turf professionals. The teams competed in two-year and four-year turfgrass science student competitions at the event.
At the contest, teams answer questions about turfgrass and sports field management. Questions cover topics such as identifying turfgrass species, insects and diseases, baseball field dimensions, and troubleshooting irrigation systems.
One of Penn State’s four-year teams, comprised of turfgrass science students Wilson Kreitz, Joseph Lofland, Carter Marshall and Jacob Straw, took first place, defending their title from the prior year’s event. The other four-year team, including students Christina Bender, George Blewitt, Timothy McGrane and Jacob Straw, came in fourth out of 20 teams. This is the fifth time that the four-year team has won since 2016.
The two-year team of Jaime Canal Campos, Ernesto Martinez, Augustus Holt and Tyler Bechtel came in second in their competition.
In February, three Penn State teams competed at the Golf Course Superintendents Association Turf Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The competition tests students’ knowledge and helps prepare them for their first professional positions as superintendents in the golf course industry.
During the competition, teams are judged based on their overall industry knowledge and problem-solving skills in high-pressure situations through written case studies, multiple choice questions, visual identification and short answer portions to replicate the issues superintendents face daily. Topics covered include soils, pathology, entomology, irrigation and mathematics.
The first-place team was comprised of Wilson Kreitz, Joseph Lofland, Carter Marshall and Jacob Straw. The first-place win was a repeat of 2025, and the seventh time Penn State has won since 2015. The first, seventh and 10th place wins earned the students a total of $25,000, which will be used to fund future travel to these events.
“I am incredibly proud of all our students, not just because of the results, but for the work ethic behind them,” said Ben McGraw, associate professor of turfgrass science and the team’s academic adviser. “They put in countless hours preparing, studying and supporting one another, and these performances reflect their commitment, discipline and professionalism.”
McGraw said competing against dozens of universities nationwide highlights the caliber of Penn State students and the strength of the turfgrass science programs.
“The students demonstrate not only strong technical knowledge but also the ability to work as teams under pressure — skills that translate directly to leadership and success in the profession," McGraw said.