Lynchburg-Clay gold team wins 3rd straight State Envirothon title
(Submitted photo)
For the third straight year, the Lynchburg-Clay Gold Envirothon Team has claimed victory at the State Envirothon, earning the opportunity to compete at the national level.
On April 16, the Lynchburg-Clay Gold team, led by Lara Hamilton in her 30th year of coaching, secured first place at the Area 5 Envirothon and advanced to the State Envirothon. The team roster featured Cloe Williamson, Autumn Blankenship, Kylie O'Conner, Gage Thompson and Owen Faust.
The Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts conducted its annual State Envirothon from June 1 to June 3 at Franciscan University of Steubenville. The top four teams from each of the five Area Envirothons qualified to participate in the State Envirothon. This year, Highland County was represented by three teams competing at the state level: Lynchburg-Clay Gold, Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs and Whiteoak.
The Envirothon encourages high school students to learn about the environment and natural resources. The competition covers soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology, and current environmental issues.
This year, the Lynchburg-Clay Gold team took first place in Aquatics, Forestry, Soils and Wildlife. They finished second in the Oral Presentation: Non-Point Source Pollution: It Begins at Home!
Every member of an Envirothon team is encouraged to give their best effort, yet it's the total team score that ultimately matters at the conclusion of the Envirothon.
The Lynchburg-Clay Gold team is scheduled to participate in the 2026 NCF Envirothon at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss., from July 19 to July 25.