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Evan Slater from Marion-Florence FFA (top photo) heaves a hay bale over the bar during the fourth annual county-wide Barnyard Olympics. The event was hosted by the Marion-Florence FFA in conjunction with the Florence Labor Day Celebration Sept. 6. Teams from Marion, Hillsboro and Peabody competed in events ranging from a watermelon-seed spitting contest to hay-bale stacking and a bale toss for height, a steer roping contest and a tricycle obstacle course. Individual winners in the girls? division were Taylor Nikkel (first), Lauren Geis (second), Katey Ehrlich (third), Ericka Herzet (fourth) and Erin Loewen fifth. In the girls? team competition, Hillsboro placed first and Marion second. In the boys? division, individual honors went to Aaron Klassen (first), Evan Slater (second), Nicholas Meyer (third), Sam Shope (fourth) and Zac Goodwin. Team rankings were Hillsboro first, Marion second, Marion (2) third.
