Durant High School students have recently taken top honors at district and statewide competitions — including bringing a long sought-after title back to Hillsborough County.
The school took top honors at the statewide FFA citrus competition Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. The five-person high school team comprised of students Abby Davis, Jordan Blount, Cole Hanson, Tyler Trussell and alternate Jacob Ross began working for the title a few weeks after the school year began.
“We started preparing the second week of school,” Trussell, the only senior on the school’s team, said. “We practiced pretty much every day. It’s the first time Durant won, ever. We’ve wanted this for a while and I’ve been doing this for four years. It was my senior year, so it was my final year to get that last push.”
Trussell added that he believed the team’s success this year was due to added dedication.
To win the contest, the team had to identify citrus varieties, insects, weeds, diseases and disorders and complete a written portion. Participants completed tests with over 100 questions individually, and the combined scores made up the team’s total.
“There were about 40 high schools and middle schools that competed,” Hanson, a sophomore, said. “We figured we were in the top two or three. There was a lot of anxiety and anticipation. When we found we won, we went crazy. We blew up pumpkins.”
Hanson added that he originally joined the team because, he said, citrus was dying out in Hillsborough County. With plans to pursue agribusiness management, he wanted to learn about the industry.
Thomas Sturgis, the team’s advisor, was pleased with the results. While the school has ranked in the competition before, the winning title had never been achieved. On top of the honor, bringing the title to Durant is the first time the statewide title has been back in Hillsborough County in over 30 years.
“It’s just a real accomplishment,” Sturgis said. “We’ve been second twice, third three times and we’ve been fourth, fifth and sixth before.”
Individually, the students also placed well. Blount placed second, followed by Davis in fourth, Hanson in seventh and Trussell in ninth.
In the future, the team recommends that students interested in pursuing citrus give it their all.
“Do it,” Hanson said. “Study and do it because it’s worth it. We studied together and individually.”
In 2017, the Durant FFA team is continuing the standard of success.
Earlier this month, Madison Smith, a freshman at Durant, won the district Creed contest and will go on to participate at the state level.
“I was nervous, but I felt confident going in,” Smith said. “I’ve been practicing since October and November, and I did public speaking in middle school. I definitely practiced a lot.”
Smith, who wants to pursue a career in politics or ag communications after graduation, received help from fellow freshman Emma Poole, who won the state creed contest last year.
To win the contest, Smith had to recite the Creed and answer questions related to it and agriculture as a whole.
“This is just a launching pad for students,” Sturgis said. “This is what makes teaching worthwhile.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.