Top MSU Grad Students Awarded $7,000
Sweet 16 is in action this week but so is Sweet 26: 26 graduate students from Montana State University (MSU) competed in the largest competition yet held by the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee (MWBC). At the third annual March Madness, students squared off in four divisions vying for $7,000 in cash prizes.
Competition deepened this year by project diversity with students from economics, plant sciences, engineering, ecology, entomology and precision agriculture. Winners are listed below. All placing photos listed here.
The Shark Tank-style competition allows students five minutes to pitch their projects to a panel of judges from across the state. Kent Kupfner, MWBC executive director, said about the competition, “This is a unique presentation for grad students. Rather than a peer review or scientific jury, contestants must be able to convey their project’s practicality to the grower.”
Prior to the creation of March Madness, often the first time a grad student met a grower might have been at the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Field Days during the summer. “Field Days offers opportunity for students to meet a wide swath of producers across the state,” said Terry Angvick, MWBC chairman. “But it takes a good deal of confidence to walk up to a stranger and introduce yourself, amid 75 people. This event is more personal.”
March Madness includes a poster display prior to the competition. Judges visit with students for over an hour, focusing on one-on-one time. “We get to know each other,” Angvick added. “That is time for our wheat and barley leaders to exchange their experience with a bright, ambitious mind. It’s critically important for Montana innovation.”
Colter Brown of Northern Ag Network returned for a third year to emcee the event held March 23 at the MSU Alumni Foundation in Bozeman. Judges included eight MWBC and two Montana Grain Growers Association (MGGA) board members. MGGA and the Montana Grains Foundation partnered with MWBC to sponsor March Madness 2026, including gift cards for competitors who did not place.
The entire competition can be found recorded on the MWBC Facebook page. For more information regarding the event, email wbc@mt.gov or call 406-761-7732.
Maya Clark, 1st Place Masters First Year
Kaelin Smith, 1st Place Masters Later Year
Megan Engel, 1st Place PhD First Year
Jared Lile, 1st Place PhD Later Year