By Eli Long Posted May 12, 2026
39 students from FFA attended the state convention to compete in the Career Development Event in Reno. Advisor Rebecca Hill was proud of the students’ representation and hard work in each event to stand out amongst the many attendees.
“Our students did an outstanding job representing Lowry,” said Hill. “This year’s State Convention had the largest turnout ever of 647 students participating and competing.”
Sophomore Lily Walker competed in the Senior Floriculture event alongside Aiden Peters, Hailey Tonder, and Leigh Johnson, in which the team earned sixth place. Walker appreciated this opportunity to compete and to watch other schools flourish with the same interests.
“FFA state was a great experience,” said Walker. “Getting to see everyone from all over the state come together and work for what they care about is a great time.”
Walker also participated in Livestock evaluation, which included judging four different livestock – cows, goats, sheep, and pigs. These animals must be graded based on breeding and the market.
Another student to attend, Fallon McNeil, participated in the Senior Vet Science event with Riley Ball, Matti DeLong, and Ava Frey. She is proud of his year in FFA and the cooperation of the students.
“I think the year went well, we competed well and did a really good job working together as a team,” said McNeil.
With a higher number of students attending, the contests had a larger number of teams, but Lowry was still able to make progress.
“Most contests had 20 or more teams competing with an average of 50 to 100 kids in each contest,” said Hill. “Our Horse Evaluation Team will be representing Nevada at the National FFA Convention this October in Indianapolis, IN.”
Competing in FFA State was a chance for students to learn about a career in agriculture and to meet students just like them coming from different schools in Nevada. Sophomore Naomi Miller participated in the Meat Evaluation event. The meat judging competition included judging four different meat carcasses into different grades as well as smaller cuts of meat. Alongside her were Natalia Cassinelli, McKenna Hufford, and Addison Tregallas. Lowry placed sixth in this event.
“It brings so many opportunities to meet new people and have fun outside of school while doing what we love,” said Miller.
While Miller appreciated the chance to meet new people, Cassinelli savored the time with her classmates.
“I enjoyed hanging out with my friends at the pool, hanging around the hotel,” said Cassinelli. “It was just an overall fun environment.”
