Landscape Contracting (BT), Landscape Development (AAS), and Plant Science students competed in the 50th Annual National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC), held this March at Michigan State University. The event brings together approximately 800 students from more than 50 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada for a week of hands-on competitive events, career networking, and professional development.
The competition spans close to 30 applied events, giving students the opportunity to test and demonstrate skills in landscape construction, installation, and equipment operation; design; irrigation construction, design, and troubleshooting; plant identification and horticultural knowledge; cost estimating and business management; and safety and technical skills. Beyond competition, students participated in a national-scale career fair where employers actively recruited for internships and full-time positions.
Cobleskill Ag & Tech has been sending students to the NCLC since the 1980s. This year, the College fielded its largest team since 2019.
“The 50th anniversary felt like the right moment to come back stronger, and our students delivered. Competing alongside the best programs in the country, in front of the employers who will hire them, gives us a valuable, real-world proving ground to put our learning into action,” said Tim Marten, Assistant Professor and Faculty Advisor. “The fact that we brought our largest team since 2019 isn’t a coincidence. It shows the stronger culture of student engagement that we’re seeing in our programs and across campus right now.”
Individual Standouts:
- Jose Sandoval (Carmel, NY) led the squad with a 26th-place overall finish out of 725 competitors and placed 9th in Compact Excavator Operations.
- Jude Larsen finished 7th overall in 3D Exterior Landscape Design.
- Dominic Tumolo (Mahopac, NY) tied for 6th in Compact Skid Steer Operations, a result with an added dimension: Tumolo’s father is a program alumnus, an NCLC student-participant from the days when the competition was called Student Career Days, and a team sponsor.
- Daniel Acquilano (Waterloo, NY), an Environmental Studies student, placed 17th in Woody Plant Identification, landing in the top 20 percent of a field dominated by dedicated landscape specialists.
At Cobleskill Ag & Tech, the Landscape Contracting, Landscape Development, and Plant Science programs are interwoven tracks, sharing a foundation rooted in the living systems that define sustainable outdoor environments. That shared grounding is what makes results like these possible, and it’s what graduates carry into careers designing, building, and stewarding landscapes, green spaces, restoration projects, campuses, public park systems, and more.
The College is one of nine NALP-accredited bachelor’s-level programs in the U.S. and Canada, and the only one in New York or New England. Alumni and industry partners support the majority of student participation and travel costs.
Photos courtesy of Kah-reem Rucker
