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CORVALLIS, Ore. - A team of Oregon State University animal sciences students finished second in the National Beef Quiz Bowl at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association convention in Denver, Colo.

OSU's four-member group participated with teams from Iowa State University and North Carolina State University in a knowledge contest focusing on beef production and the beef industry.

The National Beef Quiz Bowl is sponsored by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and American Society of Animal Science. The annual event is intended to give animal sciences students throughout the United States an opportunity to test their knowledge skills in competition with students from other universities, and to learn more about the national beef industry.

The bowl consists of a series of rapid-fire questions with contestants earning points for correct answers, said Chad Mueller, an OSU assistant professor of animal sciences and adviser for the OSU team.

The teams competing at the conference earn their invitation by winning regional contests in which teams from other land grant universities participate. OSU competes with teams from several other western universities every year for the honor of winning a trip to the cattlemen's conference.

"The group representing OSU at the NCBA meeting is actually called the OSU Quadrathlon Team," Mueller said. "This is because the regional competition consists of four events: a quiz bowl competition, laboratory practicum, written test and oral presentation."

At the NCBA meeting, the contest features only the quiz bowl component, he explained.

Support for the OSU Quadrathlon team was contributed by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, the Oregon Beef Council, the Klamath County Cattlewomen's Association and Sharon and Fred Livingston.

OSU team members are Brandon Smith, a senior in animal sciences from Nyssa; Garrett Tschida, a senior in animal sciences from Ontario; Sarah Antoine, a senior in animal sciences from Woodburn; and Kyle Caires, a 2005 animal sciences graduate from Haiku, Maui, who is now a Washington State University graduate student.