Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Blackburn WINS STIHL Intercollegiate Championship!!

HCC Forest Management graduate, Jay Blackburn, placed FIRST in the STIHL National Collegiate Timbersports Championship held in Stillwater, Minnesota this weekend (July 21). Jay squared off against 5 other regional champions (the best from 40 colleges/universities from the US and Canada) and secured a spot in the STIHL Timbersports Professional Series!!

Competition was extremely tight and came down to a 3-way tie where Jay emerged the victor in a stocksaw showdown.Jay has been training 6 days a week throughout the summer and felt much more prepared than last year--when he placed third overall. Jay recently trained with Arden Cogar Jr., a STIHL pro-series finalist, in West Hamlin, West Virginia. You can see some video of this practice session below and we will post videos of Jay's performance in Minnesota as soon as they are available!




Underhand chopping, stock chainsaw, and single-buck practice on red oak and white pine.