Tri-C Places Second Nationally at 2024 NCLC

Caleb Kautz named top individual winner

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®) triumphed once again at the 2024 National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC).

Tri-C's Plant Science and Landscape Technology program took second place overall, and student Caleb Kautz scored top individual honors among the 595 competing students. Organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the annual competition challenges students in 30 individual or group events that require the expertise needed to work in the industry.

Kautz, of Chesterland, is the third consecutive Tri-C student and fifth since 2014 to take top honors. He is in his final semester pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in the Plant Science and Landscape Technology program.

Tri-C also won three event championships during the competition, held March 13 – 16 at Brigham Young University of Provo, Utah: Christine Kermond won for small engine repair, and Kautz won for landscape lighting and maintenance cost estimating. The College placed in the top three in 12 events.

Destiny Griffiths, of Cleveland, was another outstanding performer for Tri-C, placing fifth overall and first among females. She had a second- and third-place finish and two top-10 finishes.
 
Top-three performers for Tri-C were:

• Katie Capatosto, annual and perennial identification, second place
• Gabby Fernandez, interior landscape design, second place
• Adam Farraj, sales presentation, second place
• Melissa Dougherty, turf and weed identification, second place
• Griffiths, mini track loader operation, second place
• Kiira Olszko, construction cost estimating, third place
• Olivia Mitnick, turf and weed identification, third place
• Kaitlyn Torres and Olszko, irrigation troubleshooting, third place
• Griffiths, interior plant identification, third place

"Our students continue performing at a high level at this event and they exceed our goals each year, especially competing against four-year universities," said Jim Funai, assistant professor in Tri-C's program since 2009. "We strive to build professionals ready to launch into successful careers, and we just had another very successful year of doing so."

Last year, the College took first place overall at NCLC, becoming just the third community college to win the competition. Tri-C had the top overall student in 2014 (Hayden Angelotta), 2019 (Frank Vareska), 2022 (Peyton Musgrave), 2023 (Keith Rush) and 2024 (Kautz).

Funai has guided the College's Plant Science and Landscape Technology program to become the best two-year program in the nation, routinely placing alongside or above programs from large four-year universities in national competitions such as NCLC.

Learn more about NCLC and view final results at landscapeprofessionals.org.

March 21, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu