Hoosier Takes Nat'l Corn Husking Title
Published: Friday, October 24, 2025
Kevin Lambright of Hudson, who competed in the men's open division, shucked the most corn out of all the contestants last weekend at the National Corn Husking Contest in Nappanee. He husked a stunning 475 pounds in 30 minutes. With deductions, his net total came to 458.8 pounds. Dennis Brown of Winchester, Ohio came beh-
ind him with a net total of 395.34. Close in third was Khris Deal from Marshall, Minn., who husked 386.8 pounds.
Participants in the National Corn Husking Competition gathered at Reed Farms in Nappanee last weekend for a day of friendly competition. The blue skies and fair weather of Saturday made for a more pleasant husking experience than the local competition held two weeks prior on Oct. 4, when temperatures hovered at 83 degrees.
The competition began at 9 a.m., and 89 contestants showed up to compete, 31 of whom were Indiana residents. Indiana residents ultimately took first place in six of the 12 categories.
Family members young and old made their way into the fields; in some families, three generations had competed at the local level, and entire families showed up to support those who qualified for nationals. Cora Burns of Macy, who was in the 15-20 girls category and has competed since 2019, said that what she enjoys most about the event is "getting to be around family."
"It's like a family event," she commented, pointing out that several of her family members were competing as well.
Burns took fourth place in her category at the national competition. In first, second, and third place were: Lillian Niklasen of Kimballton, Iowa, with 80 pounds and no deductions; Ashley Sleeth of Hartford, Iowa, with a net total of 79.4 pounds; and Addison Fedeler of Chester, S.D., with 74.31 pounds.
In the 15-20 boys division, Gage Richard of Rochester, who dominated the state competition, also scored first place at nationals, harvesting a net total of 129.22 pounds. Marshall Finke of Kewanna gathered 68.58 pounds in second place; Sean Link of Bushnell, Ill., came in third with 51.5 pounds.
Winning first place, Callie Aggert of Plymouth in the youth girls 14 and under husked a net 54.5 pounds. In a close second, Maggie Anderson of Colman, S.D., gathered 52.78 pounds. With 47.52 pounds, Adalynn Gravel of Holden, Minn. took third place.
There was also a close finish in the youth boys category. Braycen Douglas of Pettersfield, Ill. gathered 67 pounds gross total in 10 minutes. With glean and husk deductions, his net total came to 63.79. Declan Nikklasen of Kimballton, Iowa, in second place, gathered 60.27 pounds. In third place, Ryan Link of Bushnell, Ill. totaled 47.3 pounds.
The competition divides participants into twelve categories: girls 14 and under, girls 15-20, young women's, women's open, women's senior, women's golden, and the same age categories for male participants. The younger and older categories pick and husk along a row for 10 minutes, while the two middle categories husk for 20 minutes. The men's open runs for 30 minutes.
Once the time is up, the corn is weighed, and all the corn that is missed in the row by the contestant, as well as the extra husks still on the corn, are deducted from the total weight.
Eli Wagler of Odon, who had placed second in the local competition, made his way down the row steadily and quickly, throwing a cob into the wagon alongside him every few seconds. Wagler, as well as some other contestants, used a traditional tool called a husking hook to make the process easier. His friend and neighbor, Damon Allen, commented that Wagler grew up husking corn, and at 77, he still has the skill mastered.
"And you know," Allen said, "60 years ago, this was the way a lot of people did it."
The corn husking competition was inaugurated in 1924, took a hiatus for a few decades as husking by hand became less popular, and then began again in 1970. Now, nine states (Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois) hold state competitions, sending the top three competitors in each category to the national competition.
Eli Wagler ultimately took first place in the men's golden, shucking 76 pounds in 10 minutes with zero deductions. In second place was Richard Humes of Little Rock, Ill.; David Shafer of Henderson, Minn.took third place. Humes and Shafer harvested 71.26 and 68.3 pounds, respectively.
Phyliss Calloway of Macy topped the women's golden with a net 48.3 pounds gathered. Janice Hurford of Plymouth harvested 44.8 pounds in second place; Marilyn Gerken of Lake City, Minn. harvested 21 pounds in third place.
Jennifer Edwards of Sullivan, who competed in the young women's open, commented that husking "is unique—it's something to do with the family."
The event doesn't attract the same popularity it did in its heyday, but it still has its dedicated huskers. In Edwards' family, her children and her father competed alongside her at the local level. And, while her 7-year-old son didn't place for nationals, he loved walking along the row and tearing the cobs away from the stalks.
"He would watch each cob sail up through the air into the wagon!" Edwards said as she laughed.
Edwards placed third in her division with a net 95.16 pounds harvested in 20 minutes, about 80 pounds less than she husked in the local competition. She took the finish in stride.
"It was harder today. The husks didn't come off easily," she said. "It might have been a different variety of corn—I don't know. Or my hands were weaker!"
Heather Gerken of Bowlus, Minn. topped the young women's open, harvesting 154.95 pounds. Jackie Eckrote of Macy took second place with a clean 121 pounds: no glean or husk deductions.
In the young men's open, Dain Niklasen of Kimballton, Iowa came in first place. In second and third place were Lane Eckrote of Macy and Mark Gerken of Bellechester, Minn. The top three totals were close: 221.2 pounds, 215.9 pounds and 206.9 pounds.
In the women's open, Nancy Miller of Manchester, Ill. dominated the competition with a net total of 229.8 pounds harvested in 20 minutes. Emma Schnept and Crystal Johnson, both from Minnesota, took second and third place, Schnept husking 173 pounds, and Johnson, 117.7 pounds.
Darlene Bender of Wolcottville took first place in the women's senior, with a net total of 192.71 pounds. Angie Boyd of Nebraska and Michelle Paul of Ohio came in second and third, shucking 145.71 pounds and 137.1 pounds, respectively.
In the men's senior category, Jim Stuart of New Virginia, Iowa took first place in a close finish, husking 255.3 pounds. Rolland Miller of Plymouth came behind with 241.4 pounds, and Melvin Helmuth of Nappanee took third place with 239.52 pounds.
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