Marietta’s ag mechanics team is winning. Again. After several state championships in a
row, it’s expected – but it never gets old, does it?
Recently, the team has dominated at the Fresh County Show held in Hugo on Monday,
February 17, and the Love County Junior Livestock Show, held February 20.
At Fresh County, the team came away with four division championships. Brody Bazor’s
bulk sheep handler, a hydraulic chute for sheep, won grand in the livestock division,
Allie Jackson won grand in the decorative division, Waylon McKinney’s table won grand
in the outdoor recreation division, and Maddi Magnus won grand in the firepit division.
At the county show, where they had some good competition, the winning ways
continued. Bazor’s sheep handler was at the top of its class, Schuyler Blevins’s welding
trailer was reserve grand, and Joan Vega’s cattle guard was fifth overall.
“We had three of the top five projects at county,” said advisor Josh Bazor. “It was an
absolutely great showing for us. We’ve put in some long hours, and with the flu and a lot
of big projects and trying to go to shows, it’s been tough.”
Those two shows done, the ag mech team moved on to their own show, the Shop Rat
Showdown, held March 1 in Marietta and attended by approximately 20 schools from
both Oklahoma and Texas. With $20,000 in prizes on the block, it’s no wonder they’re
coming from all over.
The Showdown is the second show that Marietta has hosted this school year, a follow-
up to the Red River Rumble in November 2024. The Showdown drew over 100 projects
and Marietta had two division winners, Brody Bazor in the Livestock Division and
Waylon McKinney in the Decorative Division, and two of the top five projects: Brody
Bazor was the reserve grand champion winner and Schuyler Blevins was fourth overall.
If it seems that when it comes to ag mechanics, Marietta FFA students are all in, that’s
because they are. After working for several years to build a solid program, Bazor is now
pleased to be able to watch as said program picks up steam because of student buy in.
“These kids now have some skin in the game,” said Bazor with a smile. “They know
what it takes to win, and they’re willing to put in the effort. That means a lot of long, hard
hours. We had a week that we were here until after midnight several nights trying to get
everything finished. It was all hands on deck.”
During past months, Bazor has loaded up his team and visited shows in both San
Antonio and Fort Worth.
“In Texas, they’ve been doing this for about 20 years, so they’re ahead of us. Their
projects are just ridiculous – things like semi-trailers and a robot controlled brush hog –
just crazy neat stuff, and I wanted our kids to see what they can do if they’re willing to
put in the work,” Bazor explained.
Not only does it give kids ideas for future projects, but it gives them a view of the what
they’ll be competing against now that Texas kids are at some of their shows. I guess
once you’ve been judged the best in your home state several years in a row, you’ve
gotta go further afield to get some real competition.
And Bazor’s bunch isn’t intimidated by what they saw. They came back from both Texas
shows brimming with plans and concepts for their next projects.
With the Shop Rat Showdown done, there will be no rest for the weary. It’ll be on to the
T&D Meats show in Okemah on March 8, and then to the Oklahoma Youth Expo in
Oklahoma City on March 14 and 15.
“The prizes aren’t great at OYE, but our kids really want to compete there because
getting your name called there is a big deal,” remarked Bazor. “That show is really about
bragging rights for us.”
Which brings up an interesting point. For a team of students from what’s arguably the
school’s most successful extracurricular program, the ag mechanics kids don’t do a lot
of bragging.
By and large, they’re a humble lot, mostly hardworking kiddos who keep their grades up
and their noses clean when it comes to behavior. Instead of tooting their own horns,
they prefer to let their projects do the talking for them. And that’s just the way Bazor
likes it.