The Concordia Veterinary Science team has had a remarkable season this school year. For the first time in school history, the Vet Science team has earned a place at the FFA State Contest on Saturday, April 29th. This year’s team is coached by Ag Advisor, Ms. Emaleigh Esterak, and consists of six students and includes: Lauryn Grant ’23, Kiley Jeter ’23, Blythe Brooks ’24, Jayden Schoppe ’24, and Emily Smith ’24, and Carys Driskill ’26. The state team features Grant, Jeter, Brooks, and Driskill.
At the State Contest, the Concordia Lutheran FFA Veterinary Science team competed at the Texas FFA State Veterinary Science Career Development Event at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Out of all 81 teams from across the state of Texas that qualified, the Crusaders finished 19th earning an amazing Top-20 finish in their first time ever competing on this stage.
In the team’s 11 competitions this season which spans both semesters, the team has eight Top-5 finishes including finishing 1st in the Madison FFA Online Invitational and their most recent competition the Chapel Hill-Tyler Online Invitational. All four members of the state team have also earned Top-10 individual placements in at least two different competitions over the season, making them a formidable team in the postseason.
A typical Veterinary Science contest consists of a written exam, identification, skill practicums, and a math portion. Our Crusaders have spent this year studying chapters from a veterinary training textbook, over 600 parasites, organs, tools, breeds, various skills, and different mathematical situations such as conversions, dosage calculations, solution dilutions, cost calculations, and invoices.
Concordia’s FFA program was founded in 2015 by Mrs. Brandy Elrod and the program is one of only seven private schools in Texas to offer a complete agriculture/FFA/4-H program in curriculum and extracurricular offerings which include Archery, Bass Fishing, Leadership, Livestock, Shotgun, and Veterinary Science.
Over 40% of our current students are enrolled in an agriculture course which include Intro to Ag Sciences, Veterinary Medical Application, Culinary 1-3, Animal Science, Floral Design, and Wildlife, Fisheries, and Ecology Management.
Listed below are the team’s placements at their contests this season:
Deer Park Invitational
Team: 5th
Kiley Jeter: 7th
Texas A&M Fall Online Invitational
Jeter: 5th
Tomball Memorial Online Invitational
Team: 4th
Blythe Brooks: 5th
Jersey Village Invitational
Team: 4th
Northwest ISD Invitational
Team: 3rd
Brooks: 5th
Jeter: 8th
Decatur Invitational
Team: 2nd
Lauryn Grant: 4th
Carys Driskill: 8th
Tarleton State University Invitational (Largest Contest in the State)
Team: 9th
Grant: 20th
Madison FFA Online Invitational
Team: 1st
Brooks & Jeter: T-3rd
Grant: 5th
Texas A&M Area III (State Qualifier)
Team: 7th
Grant: 13th
Texas A&M Spring Online Invitational
Team: 3rd
Jeter: 3rd
Chapel Hill-Tyler Online Invitational
Team:1st
Grant: 2nd
Driskill: 5th
Jeter: 11th
Texas FFA State Veterinary Science Career Development Event
Team: 19th out of 81