Mississippi State students are award winners in a spring national landscape and horticulture competition celebrating 45 years since its inception at the university.

Reed Gordon of Batesville, senior landscape contracting and management major, placed fourth, with partner Jared Nelson of Russellville, AL,  in Irrigation Assembly.

Students were recognized in numerous categories and received multiple scholarships during the National Collegiate Landscape Competition. MSU had two first-place finishers, seniors Makahla Holloway and Robbie Cummings, and the university’s team finished 7th overall out of 45 participating schools.

NCLC was founded in 1977 by the late Robert Callaway, MSU’s first landscape contracting and management professor. The competition is now associated with the National Association of Landscape Professionals and rotates locations among hosting universities. 

The event includes hundreds of top landscape and horticulture students who gather for three days to showcase their skills competitively. Students network with top industry leaders and may participate in the field’s largest career fair. Mississippi State is the host for the 2023 competition.