Well, kinda sorta in a way.
I'm an alumnus of Stephen F. Austin State University, I was at one time enrolled in the Forestry Program, and I have actually been out in the woods and cut some timber with real lumberjacks. It's hard work, especially in the summer in East Texas.
So my hat is off to the guys and girls who competed in this past weekend's Mid-Atlantic States Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet held Saturday at Haywood Community College. These kids were some choppin', sawin', axe-throwin' fools, but it was fun to watch.
The highlight of the event was the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Challenge, which will air later this year on ESPNU. An HCC graduate was last year's collegiate national champion and has gone on to the professional ranks.
Anyway, the Stihl Timbersports part of Saturday's event involved five competitors, one each from HCC Penn State-Mont Alto, Montgomery Community College, Allegany College of Maryland and Penn College of Technology.
The guys competed in the underhand chop (a more dangerous looking sport I have not come across), the stock saw and the single-buck saw events.
The winner was this impressive kid, Matt Slingerland, who turned 17 the day after the competition. He is dual enrolled at Montgomery Community College and Gray Stone Day School in Misenheimer, N.C. Who knew there was a Misenheimer, N.C.? His mother and twin brother, Eric, also compete in lumberjack games. His sister might, too. I know she has her own axe.
Matt Slingerland saws through an 18-inch white pine log on his way to a personal record with a little help from his teammates including twin brother, Eric, second from left.Anyway, this kid probably has an advantage over a lot of the other competitors seeing as how his dad is Mike Slingerland, a second-generation world champion lumberjack who competes in the Stihl pro series.
Mike SlingerlandThe aptly nicknamed Josh "Tiny" Roten, of HCC, took third place in the competition. Nice kid. Big kid.
Josh "Tiny" Roten
2 comments:
I don't think we have anything like that here since we don't have trees, but I have enjoyed watching these events on t.v. I am amazed that his mother participates in these events and that maybe his sister will too.
His mother and father actually compete together in the Jack and Jill double buck sawing. In fact I think they hold a world record. Or they did at one time. She is also a world champion... a "seven-time World Champion sawyer" as I found online.
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