Melrose students third at nationals

A group of students from Melrose finished third at the Business Professionals of America high school conference in Cincinnati in early May.

The six-person team grabbed the award in a 26-team parliamentary procedure event. Each team member was asked 50 questions before the schools were assigned a problem to be solved during a business meeting governed by parliamentary procedure rules.

Seniors Ryan Belcher, Josh Bright, Cody Cochran, Seth Hairgrove, Ryan Willoughby and junior Jason Runyan made up the Melrose team.

“(A judge) said that we won the presentation and it was the written test that dropped us back,” said Willoughby, who plans on attending Dodge City (Kan.) Community College on a livestock judging competition.

The team was outfitted with matching rented suits for the event.

“It was kind of weird, all of us farm guys going to the city,” Belcher said.