Koemel cools off in meat locker

By Kathy Thomson

Albany High School senior Alayna Koemel spent part of the hot Texas summer chilling out in a 36 degree cooler studying the basics of meat judging at a camp hosted by Texas Tech, and demonstrated, that like her older brother Newt, she may have what it takes to earn a spot on the Red Raider Meat Judging team.

“Newt talked me into going to the camp,” Koemel said. “I plan on going to Texas Tech, starting in the fall of 2020. Watching my brother and seeing how much he loves meat judging helped me decide that I want to major in meat science and hopefully be on the meat judging team.”

Koemel missed the beginning of the Texas Tech camp because of a prior commitment.

“I went right after cheerleading camp, so I missed the first half day or so,” said Koemel. “But I loved it! It was so much fun learning how to do something new.”

Sixty-eight students from three states attended the camp held at the university’s Gordon Davis meat lab, and all but nine of them stayed for a practice beef grading and evaluation contest at Cargill in Friona.

“We had six classes of carcasses that included pork, beef, lamb, and short loins, and 30 retail cuts to identify for the FFA contest,” said Koemel.

Koemel placed sixth high individual in FFA Area IV, and first in the Big Country District.

In addition, she earned a second place win for the Albany team in Area IV and first in District.

Collegiate rules limit students to one season of meat judging eligibility, so even if Koemel makes the team, she will not be teammates with her brother.

“But we will be together at Tech for at least one semester,” said Koemel. “If he stays and gets a masters in meat science, he might be one of my coaches.”

The Red Raider meat judging team has won seven national championships since 2008 under coach Mark Miller.