C-Falls student on winning science team

Four students from Montana State University’s Department of Animal and Range Sciences won the Western Region Academic Quadrathlon in San Angelo, Texas, on June 23-25. They now advance to the national competition in Kansas City, Mo., on July 20-21.

Anna Downen, a 2008 graduate of Columbia Falls High School, joined Preston Kiehl of Winnett, Jessica Roloff of Bozeman and Ben Stokes of Pflugerville, Texas, in a four-part contest that included a comprehensive written exam, impromptu oral presentation, hands-on lab practicum and double-elimination quiz bowl tournament. This is the second year in a row that MSU has won the regional contest.

The MSU team competed with five other western region universities, including California State University-Chico, Brigham Young University-Idaho, New Mexico State University, Oregon State University and University of Wyoming.

Three of the four students graduated in May. Downen now lives in Fairview and works at a Sidney veterinary clinic, Roloff is working on a ranch near Lewistown, and Stokes is starting a master’s degree at Iowa State University. Kiehl has one semester remaining and plans to return to his family ranch.

The regional contest was held in conjunction with the 2014 Western Section American Society of Animal Science meetings, hosted by Angelo State University.