"Each year, the host institution always has a surprise class that no one knows about until the show begins," Kensinger said. "Ours is something you won't want to miss."
While Kensinger said winning the regional NESA meeting brings recognition itself, it is actually a qualifying competition for the National Collegiate Beef Quiz Bowl, which Penn State competes in regularly.
Penn State won the 2007 National Cattlemen's Foundation's (NCF) bowl, which was held Feb. 2 in Nashville, Tenn.
The bowl involves both the NCF and the American Society of Animal Science.
NCF executive director Roxanne Johnson said that the bowl requires students to answer questions covering all aspects of the beef industry, including physiology, meat science, production, nutrition, reproduction and current events in the beef industry.
Regional championship teams from Utah State University, Michigan State University and Texas A&M University also competed.
Penn State's winning team was made up of team adviser Dan Kniffen, in addition to senior animal science majors Debbie McAllister, Ben Cloninger, Kyle Grim and Douglas Sattazahn.
This year was not Penn State's first Beef Quiz Bowl win.
In fact, Kniffen said Penn State has won many of the bowls since the contest began in 1993.
"Penn State teams have won eight years since the competition's start, and placed second three years," Kniffen said. "Our team has dominated, because not only do we have a good group of students that prepare themselves, but they get a tremendous broad based animal science education as undergrads."
McAllister said this year was her first experience at the national championship.
"The bowl itself was set up as a double elimination tournament," she said. "Each round your team was asked 25 questions, either multiple choice or straight answer questions, and the way it worked was we got 20 points for a correct answer and minus 10 points for answering incorrectly."
The Beef Quiz Bowl competition is held as part of the annual Cattle Industry Convention and gives young people a chance to get closely involved with the beef industry, Johnson said.
"It gives us a chance to showcase top-notch students at our convention and develop young leaders in the industry who will help carry on our values in the future of the beef industry," Johnson said, adding that Penn State students are some of the best she has seen.
The 2008 National Collegiate Beef Quiz Bowl is already in the making, and is scheduled to be held in Reno, Nevada early next February, said Johnson.
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