STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Ashlyn Henderson can now lay claim to two Super Bowl wins -- one as a competitor and another as a coach.

In July, the Mississippi 4-H Forestry Judging Team won its second national championship in three years at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational, also referred to as the Super Bowl of 4-H Forestry.

Team members included Mississippi 4-H president John Clayton Kitchens and fellow 4-H’ers Samuel Davidson, Joy Kitchens and Josie Thompson. The team is based out of Lauderdale County.

Henderson was on the team that won in 2022. This year, she was an assistant coach with her father and team coach Ray Henderson. She said she was involved in a wide range of 4-H projects throughout her term in the youth development program, but forestry judging was the one she enjoyed the most.

“When I competed at Nationals in 2022, all of my team’s hard work and hours put into studying paid off, and we came out of the competition with a national championship and memories that would last a lifetime,” she said. “This year, my father encouraged me to mentor these 4-H’ers as an assistant coach by using my experience. I quickly dove into helping them prepare, sharing with them tips and tricks I learned over the years.”

At the invitational, 4-H foresters participate in several forestry skills and knowledge competition categories including tree measurement and identification, compass orienteering and topographic map use. The invitational is designed to help 4-H’ers develop an appreciation for the importance of conserving forestland and learn leadership skills as well as forest management skills.

“When competing in tree identification, we were expected to identify different trees based on leaves in an indoor and outdoor setting,” Kitchens said. “The most fun was the forestry bowl where we competed in a game show-like setting and had to buzz in before the other team with the correct answer.”

Kitchens said the team prepared all day, every day this summer leading up to the championship, which is held each year in Weston, West Virginia, at the Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Conference Center.

“Hard work pays off, and we were challenged every step of the way,” he said. “We all had drive and commitment as we met often to study and studied at home. As we became closer as a team, we didn’t want to let each other down. We all knew we had to stay focused if we wanted to win.

“In the end,” Kitchens added, “we not only learned practical forestry skills but also citizenship and leadership skills.”

Henderson said being involved in the team’s efforts as a coach was an experience she had dreamed of after competing on the 2022 title team.

“Growing up, I always heard of the exciting times my dad had while competing at State and Nationals in 4-H Forestry Judging,” she said. “There was always something so thrilling about his stories, and I wanted to experience this excitement for myself one day. I wanted to gain new friendships and have memories for myself in 4-H Forestry Judging like my father had over the years as a 4-H’er and coach.

“This experience was nostalgic for me and allowed me to pass down my love for 4-H forestry to these 4-H’ers,” Henderson added.

Ray Henderson said the team’s dedication to the project was a major factor in its success.

“The way the scoring works at the national competition is they count the top three scores in each event,” he said. “Our team only had one member to finish in the top 10, but each teammate contributed to the scoring by excelling at their strongest events. They also scored the highest score in the team forest evaluation category. Bottom line, these four sacrificed several hours of their summer studying and preparing.”

Mariah Morgan, interim head of the Mississippi State University Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development, praised the team for its dedication and strong performance at the contest.

“These 4-H foresters and their leaders were outstanding representatives of Mississippi 4-H on a national stage,” Morgan said. “4-H programs have helped thousands of young Mississippians learn life skills, and it’s an added bonus when any of them excel the way these two national title teams have.”