North Adams High School- First Place, 2022 Barnyard Olympics (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
West Union High School- Second Place, 2022 Barnyard Olympics (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Peebles High School- Third Place, 2022 Barnyard Olympics (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester High School- Fourth Place, 2022 Barnyard Olympics (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Adams County Christian School- Fifth Place, 2022 Barnyard Olympics (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
In the final event, North Adams’ Cody Hesler sprints past the field to clinch the 2022 Barnyard Olympics title for his school. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Ava Cole from the Adams County Christian School holds her balance while participating in the “Farm to Table” event. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Manchester’s Aaron Lucas tosses his shucked corn towards the target in the “Corn Harvest” competition. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
The Peebles relay in action during the “Watering the Animals” portion of the Barnyard Olympics. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Slow and steady goes the West Union squad in the “Cattle Herding” competition. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Back in its normal spot on the final night of the Adams County Fair, the 2022 Barnyard Olympics once again brought the five county high schools together in an exciting and entertaining competition with a nice chunk of change on the line for their respective athletic departments.
Manchester High School, Peebles High School, North Adams High School, West Union High School and the Adams County Christian School all brought teams of 10 students to the center ring to compete against each other for a first place cash prize of $1,000. The event was emceed by Don Bowles from C103 Radio and officiated by Mr. Phil Rhonemus and presented by the Adams County Regional Medical Center Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Department.
For each of the five events of the Olympics, the winning team garnered 100 points, second place 75, third place 50 and fourth place 25.
The first competition of the evening was deemed “Watering the Animals” and was a relay race involving a bucket of water, a wet sponge, and an empty container to fill at the finish line. First place in this opening event went to North Adams, second to West Union, third to Peebles, and fourth to ACCS.
Event #2 was titled “Corn Harvest” where the teams had to shuck 10 ears of corn, then toss the corn into a storage bin some 25 feet or so away. Things got crazy and hectic but in the end the winner was Peebles, with West Union second, North Adams third and Manchester fourth.
Next up was “Dinner’s Ready: Farm to Table” which saw teams again in a relay situation taking a potato (disguised as a golf ball) from the garden, putting it on a plate and then carrying it waiter style to the dinner table. All 10 team members performed the duties without one single tip and in the end first place went to North Adams, second to West Union, Manchester and Peebles tied for third, with ACCS coming in fourth.
The fourth competition was called “Cattle Herding” where teams again were in a relay, this time passing the “balloon cows” through the line without using their hands. First place went to West Union, second to North Adams, third to Manchester and fourth to ACCS.
With the big money on the line, the final event came down to a battle between West Union and North Adams, the two teams neck and neck for first place. The final event, “Farmer’s Horse Race” involved gardening gloves, a gardening smock, a sun hat, work gloves and work overalls. All of that was combined into a relay race around the entire center ring track that came right down to the final seconds where North Adams track standout Cody Hesler came from behind and sprinted past the field to give his school the event and the Barnyard championship. second place in the event went to Peebles, third to West Union and fourth to Manchester.
When the judges tallied the final points, North Adams took the $1,000 prize by finishing first overall. Second place and $750 went to wEst Union, third place and $500 to Peebles, fourthplace and $250 to Manchester, and fifth place and $100 to the Adams County Christian School
Participating in the 2022 Barnyard Olympics were:
ACCS: Mitchell Ohnewehr, Mason Cox, Paden Kennedy, Korey Gray, Asha McElroy, Cassidie Walters, Josie Walters, Ava Cole, Miriam Truesdell, Ethan Liston. Coached by Mike Tripp, Aaron Truesdell and Justin Gray
Manchester: Emilee Applegate, Ashleigh Dunn, Emma Farley, Kameyl Carter, Daya Morgan, Maggie Roberts, Braiden Brown, Aaron Lucas, Logan Neria, Karson Reaves. Coached by Crystal Roberts and Nick Neria
Peebles: Hayden Crum, Grady Knechtly, Zane Knechtly, Colt Johnson, Garrett Shiveley, Elijah Jones, Waylen Lloyd, Ethan Beekman, Bella Crum. Coached by Stone Crothers
West Union: Korynne Blanton, Elayna Kingsolver, Payton Stapleton, Carly Leonard, Audrey Weakley, Billy Flaugher, Colby Harover, Tegan Knox, Trae Grooms, Branson Grooms. Coached by Kiersten Rowe, Jaycee Baldwin and Alex Clark
North Adams: Dillon Ragan, Lane Martin, Kelby Moore, Cayden Hesler, Cody Hesler, Keetyn Hupp, Olivia Wright, Kenlie Jones, Tori Staggs, Harlee Brand. Coached by Katie Ragan.
The 2022 Barnyard Olympics was sponsored by Southern Hills Community Bank, John Chamblin, Community Fuels, Armstrong Crop Insurance, Hesler Catering, Pro Flo, OK Auto Parts, Smart Farms and Tony Staggs- State Farm Insurance.
