2019 National Collegiate Landscape Competition

By Scott Douglas, Virginia Tech

A team of 24 students and four faculty/staff members represented Virginia Tech in the 2019 National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado on March 20–23. NCLC is the premier event for students in the green industry and includes 29 competitive events, scholarship awards, and a career fair. The 29 competitions cover a wide spectrum of topics, including design, equipment operation, plant identification, and installation. Over 800 students representing 64 schools attended the event.

Virginia Tech finished in 8th place out of 64 schools, an improvement over their 10th place finish in 2018. Three students finished in first place in events: Will Lewis (Compact Excavator Operation), Joe Mills (Skid Steer Loader Operation), and Jonathan Ceritelli (Small Engine Repair). Other top finishers on the Virginia Tech team included: Jack Lerch (second place in Maintenance Cost Estimating), Marshall Jones and Jack Loffredo (third place in Wood Construction) and Tyler Rigsby and Robert Armstrong (third place in Truck and Trailer Operation). Overall, 15 Hokies finished in the top ten of their events. Additionally, four Virginia Tech students received $1,000 scholarships: Tess Reeves, Molly Austin, Rachel LaFlamme, and Joe Mills.

The Virginia Tech NCLC team is moving up the overall NCLC ranking and the team will build on this momentum as they prepare for the 2020 NCLC event, which will be at Michigan State University on March 18–21, 2020. Virginia Tech will host the event in Blacksburg the following year, during spring break in March of 2021. Mark your calendars and plan to attend or volunteer to work the event.

The 2019 Virginia Tech NCLC team would like to thank everyone who sponsored the trip: VT College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, VT Agriculture Technology Program, VT Horticulture Club, VT Landscape Architecture Department, McHale Landscape Design, Aquatic Edge, Brookemeade Sod Farm, Hidden Lane Landscape, Grigg Design, Williams Brothers Tree and Lawn Service, Greenline Service-John Deere, James River Nursery, Arborscapes, Kane Landscapes, Valley Landscape, Heritage Landscape Services (HLS), Ruppert Landscape, Williams Landscape & Design, Southern Landscape Group, Rossen Landscape, Brightview, LandCare, Ruppert Landscape (Richmond South), The Denison Group, Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association, Alex Niemiera, Tom Martin, Patricia Ceperley, and Mickey Hayes.

For more information on the NCLC team, please contact one of the faculty/staff advisors: Barbara Leshyn (bkraft@vt.edu), Scott Douglas (dsd1@vt.edu), Tom Martin (thmarti2@vt.edu), or John James (jojames3@vt.edu).