Cassopolis’ Whitmyer named champion swine showman at Cass County Fair

Published 3:35 pm Tuesday, July 30, 2024

By Max Harden

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CASSOPOLIS — Jackson Whitmyer was all smiles at the Cass County Fair on Tuesday.

The Cassopolis native took home grand champion swine showmanship honors at the 2024 Cass County Fair Swine Show. Ella Boulanger was named reserve champion swine showman.

“It’s a big opportunity for me,” he said, “Last year, I won reserve and I’ve been wanting a grand championship for a couple years but that one really hit the spot. I’ve never had anything happen like that before.”

Whitmyer said he was nervous heading into Tuesday’s competition.

“I had butterflies in my stomach the whole morning,” he said. “I had people trying to calm me down for hours and it didn’t really settle down until I stepped in the ring and I got that intensity back.”

A junior at Cassopolis Ross Beatty, Whitmyer plays for the football and golf teams and is also the historian for the school’s Future Farmers of America Chapter. While he looks forward to competing in the market hog and showmanship sweepstakes this week, Whitmyer enjoys the fair and how it brings the ag community together. 

“ust the experience of getting kids together and everybody putting in hard work throughout the year to get to this point,” he said. “It feels good to be on top of the world right now.”

Swine showmanship results

Grand Champion – Jackson Whitmyer

Reserve Grand Champion – Ella Boulanger

Third overall – Makenna Williams

Fourth overall – Rowan Iwaniuk

Fifth overall – Torin Wiley

Seniors

1 – Ella Boulanger

2 – Rowan Iwaniuk

3 – Katherine Gregory

4 -Blake Hartsell

5 – Alanna Preston

6 – Kyla Sparks

Juniors

1 – Noah Klingerman

2 – Ellie Starr

3 – Julia Klein

4 – Hudson High

5 – Kaysen Maccoy

6 – Gavin Stoops

Intermediate

1 – Jackson Whitmyer

2 – Michael Corey

3 – Claire Hess

4 – Johanna McDonald

5 – Kole Sparks

6 – Lilly Richmond

Beginners

1 – MaKenna Williams

2 – Torin Wiley

3 – Allie Conrad

4 – Paisley Carpenter

5 – Laizley Mccoy

6 – Noah DeVries

 

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