Tri-C Finishes In First Place Nationally at 2026 NCLC
Josiah Hull finishes second overall among individual competitors
CLEVELAND — For the second time in four years, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) was atop the field at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC).
Tri-C's Plant Science and Landscape Technology team finished in first place at the 2026 NCLC out of 54 competing institutions, and student Josiah Hull came in second among 726 students in individual honors. Organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the annual competition challenges students in 30 individual or group events to demonstrate their skills in landscape design, plant and tree care, irrigation and more.
Hull is a second-year student pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in the Plant Science and Landscape Technology program from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He will graduate this semester.
Tri-C also won seven event championships and had five second-place finishes during the competition, held March 18 – 21 at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Top performers for Tri-C were:
- Olivia Mitnick, first place, Turf and Weed Identification
- Hannah Gordon and Josiah Hull, first place, Safety First
- Ney Soto-Nieves, first place, Robotics and Technology in Landscape Design and Maintenance
- Deidre Lego and Danny Ours, first place, Landscape Maintenance Operations
- Jesse O'Brien, first place, Irrigation Design
- Zach Davis, first place, Computer Aided Design
- Hull and Anthony Stanzi, first place, Arboriculture Techniques
- Kayla Lorion, second place, Turf and Weed Identification
- Luca Deliberato, second place, Landscape Lighting
- Tuguldur Chuluunbaatar and O'Brien, second place, Irrigation Troubleshooting
- Chuluunbaatar and O'Brien, second place, Irrigation Assembly
- Ours, second place, Compact Excavator Operation
- Hull, third place, Small Engine Repair
- Deliberato, Gordon and Hull, fourth place, Landscape Plant Installation
- Mitnick, fourth place, Maintenance Cost Estimating
- Mariah Jones, fifth place, Woody Ornamental Plant Identification
- Karl Beer, sixth place, 3D Exterior Landscape Design
- Margaret Shane, seventh place, Robotics and Technology in Landscape Design and Maintenance
- Melissa Dougherty, seventh place, Woody Ornamental Plant Identification
- Allie Cerny, eighth place, Interior Plant Identification
- Hull, ninth place, Plant Problem Diagnosis
"We could not be prouder of the effort from our students and their accomplishments at this year’s competition," said Jim Funai, Ph.D., an assistant professor in Tri-C's program since 2009. "This was one of our most dedicated teams and the proof is in the results."
In the event's 50-year history, just three community colleges have won the competition six times: Milwaukee Area Technical College (1981), Chattahoochee Technical College (2010, 2008 and 1995) and Tri-C (2026 and 2023).
The College has finished in the top 10 each year since 2014 and in the top two since 2022. Tri-C had the top overall student in 2014 (Hayden Angelotta), 2019 (Frank Vareska), 2022 (Peyton Musgrave), 2023 (Keith Rush) and 2024 (Caleb Kautz).
"Every year, our goal is to build professionals who have the skills to enter the industry and be successful, and we've met that goal this year," said program director Lori Zatroch.
The College's Plant Science and Landscape Technology program has become the best two-year program in the nation, routinely placing alongside or above programs from large four-year universities in national competitions such as NCLC.
Tri-C will host NCLC from March 17 – 20, 2027, at the Eastern Campus, marking the fourth time the event will take place in Ohio.
Learn more about NCLC and view the final results.
March 24, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu