ASHLAND — The Ashland County Fair kicked off Sunday by crowning a junior king and queen.
Danika Cross, a senior at Mapleton High School, and Preston Smeltzer, a senior at Loudonville High School, earned the crowns after the opening ceremony for the 174th fair.
Cross and Smeltzer succeed Sage Runion and Nick Cartwright, the fair’s royalty crowned last year.
Cross serves as secretary of the Mapleton High School Student Council. She is also the vice president of the Polk Porkers 4-H Club and a member of the Mapleton FFA Chapter.
She’s also actively involved in her school’s marching band, cheer and softball teams, as well as the Land Evaluation and Grain Merchandising judging teams through FFA.
The senior is currently exhibiting a dairy heifer at this year’s fair and she’s shown breeding rabbits and market goats in the past.
She plans on enrolling at the University of Cincinnati to eventually become a labor and delivery nurse.
Smeltzer also attends studies mechanical engineering through the Heartland Technical Education Center and is a member of the Paradise Hill Guy and Gals 4-H Club. He’s also a member of the Loudonville FFA Chapter.
At Loudonville-Perrysville high school, he’s played on the football and track teams. He has also served as a judge through FFA in a variety of focuses.
He is currently exhibiting market rabbits, market hogs. He will show hay, soybeans and corn at the Loudonville Street Fair in October as well.
Upon graduation, Smeltzer plans on working in agricultural robotics as a mechanical engineer.
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Cross and Smeltzer competed in a court of seven area high school students (five women and two men). The others included:
- Daniel Stemen (first runner up): a junior at Mapleton High School. She is currently exhibiting a market hog and a self-determined project titled “Petals and Petunia.” In the future, Stemen hopes to become a diesel mechanic.
- Emma Martin: junior at Ashland High School. She is currently exhibiting dairy market goats and has shown rabbits in the past. She hopes to go to college to become an elementary school teacher one day.
- Kendall Ramey: senior at Mapleton High School. She is currently exhibiting breeding lambs, market lambs and market goats and has show horse, market steers and baby beef steers in the past. Upon graduation, she plans to attend North Central State College to become a second grade teacher.
- Sydney Spellman: a sophomore at Ashland High School. She is currently exhibiting dairy market goats and has shown dairy cattle in the past. She hopes to attend The Ohio State University to become a large animal veterinarian.
- Kaden Huber: a junior at Hillsdale High School and studies animal vet science through the Heartland Technical Education Center. He currently exhibits market goats and has shown market turkeys in the past. Upon graduation, he plans to enroll at Ashland University to become a paleo-artist.