Butler Wraps Up Amazing Livestock Judging Season

With the conclusion of finals last week another unbelievable year has come to a close for the Butler Community College Livestock Judging Team. Clearly, the 2003-04 campaign ranked as the most successful year in the history of a program which is always among the nation’s elite. For the seventh consecutive year the team never finished out of the top ten in any competition. More impressive was this team’s level of consistency. The squad was named Champion or Reserve Champion at six of the seven national competitions and pulled off the unprecedented accomplishment of Oral Reasons Champions at all seven majors!

“I think that speaks quite highly of the amazing work ethic and consistency of our students. We compete every time out against 30 or more junior college programs and each have the talent to win contests. To rank no lower than third at any national competition is an amazing accomplishment. No program in the country can match that statistic,” stated Coach Chris Mullinix.

The year included 16 Champion or Reserve Champion honors returning to El Dorado. Along the way, Butler placed 63 individuals amongst contest top 10. In fact, Butler students were recognized as high individuals overall on eleven occasions including an improbable run of eight consecutive contests. The season’s impressive victories included repeat wins at the American Royal in Kansas City; the North American International Livestock Exposition held in Louisville, Kentucky; the Southwestern Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas and the Houston Livestock Show in Houston, Texas.

Coach Mullinix was obviously elated by those victories. “Winning four majors in the same year is obviously exciting. Especially those four events! That kind of season long success takes a tremendous effort on the part of each student and speaks highly of the depth on this squad. It has been a total team effort. They have developed into tremendous livestock evaluators and poised speakers and in the process brought tremendous recognition to Butler. ”

Coach Mullinix insists that the success of the program hinges on his ability to recruit good students. This group certainly drives home that point. The team is comprised of 25 students hailing from 14 different states and Canada. The 12 sophomores and 13 freshmen currently maintain a grade point average just over 3.6 and each is on track for graduation. Additionally, they are great leaders on campus, in their communities and nation-wide.

“These are just great young people, from great families who are talented and focused on achieving their goals. The victories are just a result of their will to succeed. This team was driven by the success of last years sophomores and has now set a new standard for future teams to shoot for. It’s been a phenomenal year for this program. It’s certainly a group of young people I will never forget. ”