Team Sheep overtakes the herd at 2024 Greasy Watermelon Race at Tippecanoe County Fair

WEST LAFAYETTE - Miss Tippecanoe County 2024 winner Abby Fitzmorris wore a wig and joined the action disguised as an elderly member.

The Purdue agriculture student and former cross country member had done enough glamorizing for the week. It was time to dive head first into the mush for the yearly Greasy Watermelon Race at the Tippecanoe County Fair.

"I've done it for 11 years and I did it with my sheep farm," Fitzmorris said. "It's just an amazing time to be here with my court and Tippecanoe County, and this is my favorite event in FFA and 4H. It represents our county perfectly."

The Greasy Watermelon Race featured 10 teams with over 300 combined cheerleaders packed inside of pen while a full crowd at the Tippecanoe County 4H Arena packed the bleachers.

Among the participants were 2024 West Lafayette graduate now Purdue quarterback Carson Kitchel, who coached one of the groups with his twin brother Cooper while younger brother Cade cradled a watermelon covered in cooking oil, scampered off tires, over and under wood barriers, crawled through a tunnel and made the sprint back.

But it was Team Sheep that would lead the herd behind the efforts of McCutcheon forward and girls basketball sectional champion Aubrey Miller.

"I thought we kept a good order, there was definite strategy involved and everyone played their part," Miller said with her team composed of elementary and middle school students. The team made bobbing noises after crowning victory.

It was an especially historic day for Team Poultry who had reached the final of the yearly event in over 10 years, according to Poultry Superintendent Megan Lannert.

Lane Shepard, a 10-year member captained runners Keagan Plantenga, Charter Plantenga, Regina Hoeffer, Gus Hoeffer, Eve Read and Windy Elam.

Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com , on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson .

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Team Sheep overtakes the herd at 2024 Greasy Watermelon Race at Tippecanoe County Fair