AUSTIN — Vandegrift High School's FFA's Veterinary Science Team is headed to nationals after beating out 1,600 Texas teams at state and winning by less than one point.
The four-team members -- Junior, Madeleine Rawlings, Senior, Zach Roush, Senior, Camille Barkhuizen and Junior, Lauren Stevens -- have been practicing for months. They will represent the Lone Star State in Indianapolis during the upcoming FFA national competition. The team will leave Oct. 23.
KVUE caught up with the team on Sunday, as they prepare for the big competition.
Rawlings said she couldn't imagine winning nationals, especially after taking the state title by less than two-third/'s of a point this year.
It would mean a lot.
"I'd probably just lose all feeling and hit the floor. I don't know. It would actually mean everything," said Rawlings.
It means that much because Rawlings was part of the team last year that missed out on nationals because of one, single point.
She was devastated.
"All of us were blaming ourselves. We were like 'Oh, if we only got this one more thing right,'" said Rawlings.
The entire team is doing everything they can to make sure there are no regrets this time around.
"We've done a lot of preparation and kicked a lot of butt, and just got to continue on and beat some more teams," said Roush.
By the way, Roush is the reason the Vandegrift team won state.
"Everybody's efforts count for sure, but he's the one that got the two-thirds of a point that pushed us over the edge," said Magan Escamilla, the team advisor.
If winning state is a big deal, then going to nationals is completely nerve-racking.
"And so, it's just like uh! It's coming up quick! It means everything," said Escamilla.
A blank area on her classroom wall next to existing awards on a wall seem to be a natural fit for the next trophy.
The Vandegrift Vipers only hope it comes in the form of a national title.