Local Pride: Joliet Junior College Clinches Victory at National Landscape Competition

Joliet Junior College (JJC) won the landscape plant installation event at the 2024 National Collegiate Landscape Competition in Provo, Utah. The team, consisting of Anthony Syrigas, Daniel Kucharzak, and Edgar Portillo, competed against 45 other teams. They completed tasks involving soil grading, measuring, and planting in under two hours.

The competition included 30 events over two days and attracted 650 students from 50 colleges and universities. Nick Pershey, JJC's horticulture associate professor, noted that JJC's team excelled by creating an impressive landscape planting featuring a variety of plants and mulch.

Additionally, Syrigas and Kucharzak placed eighth in the hardscape installation event out of 36 teams. Edgar Portillo earned ninth place in the compact excavator event, which had 32 participants. These results demonstrate JJC's wide-ranging expertise in landscaping.

The competition aligns with JJC's curriculum, which includes courses like Introduction to Horticulture, Landscape Construction, and Landscape Design. These courses focus on practical skills, which the students applied effectively at the competition. The judges evaluated competitors based on safety, tool use, technique, neatness, and craftsmanship.

This article has been enhanced with AI assistance. Agree to access AI-generated content by clicking here, or opt for content with less AI influence here.