Fresno State plant science students finished second in the national quiz bowl at the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences annual conference in Portland Nov. 1 to 4.
In opening rounds of the 26-team event, Fresno State beat teams from Auburn University and Purdue University before it lost to the University of Arkansas in the final. Teams of four students answered questions about agronomic, crop, environmental and soil science topics.
Fresno State’s team included seniors Christian Napier (of Madera), Joseph Reinemeyer (Clovis), Elizabeth Valdez (Santa Rosa) and Flynn Spitts (San Jose).
Several of the students also competed with senior Jacob Aguilar (Valley Village) and junior Hunter Moore (Bakersfield) in crop judging, pedology and President’s Trophy contests at the conference.
Graduate student Guntash Singh (Mansa, India) won the student research poster competition. He studied the effects of dissolved carbon dioxide in irrigation water on microbe and carbon activity in pistachio orchard soil.
Plant science seniors Belia Leyva (Fresno) and Daniela Thompson (Ahwahnee) were honored at the conference with Golden Opportunity Scholar awards, which recognize the nation’s top undergraduate students pursuing careers in agronomy, crop or soil science.
Fresno State and Kansas State were the only universities that had two recipients.
Leyva works at the USDA San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Parlier, where she assists with blue-green sharpshooter insect research. This past summer, she served as an intern with Western Agriculture Research Professionals and assisted with field efficacy trials, pest and disease monitoring, data collection and laboratory operations.
As a member of the Fresno State Horticulture Club, she presented in June at the American Society for Horticultural Science conference in Dallas about efforts working with citrus trees at the Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno. She is also a member of the California Women for Agriculture.
Thompson has worked as a research assistant at the UC Cooperative Extension in Kearney and participated in lab and field work, histology and microscopy. She was awarded a scholarship from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Multicultural Scholars Program.
As a Horticulture Club member, she volunteers at the campus horticulture unit and with the United by Roots community garden, promoting local food access and community engagement. She has assisted with Future Farmers of America Field Day contests and competed for the soil judging team that won the 2025 regional.
The American Society of Agronomy provided travel for both Golden Opportunity Award recipients to attend the conference. Associated Students Inc. and Gar and Esther Tootelian provided additional support for student travel.
Students connected with industry mentors, scientists, professionals and educators at the conference.
Dr. Sangeeta Bansal, Fresno State assistant professor of plant science, also presided over several sessions at the conference and delivered two research presentations.
The student events were held in conjunction with the annual CANVAS conference for the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America.
