The 2024 Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo was bigger and better than ever.
What started with 14 co-ops, 15 teams and 55 total participants in 2021 rose to 28 co-ops, 37 teams and 138 total participants on Aug. 22-23 at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds in Danville.
There were also 30 industry-related vendors on hand, as well as shaved ice and ice cream trucks.
The two-day event was a showcase for the skills and safety training of electric cooperative lineworkers, who competed in events such as pole climbing, hurt man rescue, knot tying and changing electric line hardware.
Hoosier Energy was well-represented by 14 member cooperatives, taking home seven individual event titles, three team event titles and the overall journeyman and team titles.
In the individual apprentice events, Abe Losekamp of Whitewater Valley REMC won the Apprentice Skill Climb with Caleb Litmer of Decatur County REMC finishing third. Alex Schnepper of WIN Energy REMC was second in the Apprentice Knot Tying and third in the Apprentice Hurt Man Rescue.
Losekamp finished second in the overall, while Litmer was third.
In the individual journeyman events, it was Harrison REMC’s Kody Kennedy who put on a show en route to the overall title. Kennedy won the Hurt Man Rescue and took second in the Knot Tying.
Harrison colleague Kyle Armstrong was also a standout, finishing first in Knot Tying and second in the Skill Climb en route to third place in the overall. Brad Wildman of Whitewater Valley REMC won the Skill Climb event, while Jarren Brown of Jackson County REMC was third in Knot Tying.
The trend of strong finishes continued in the senior journeyman events. Travis Mull of Jackson County REMC won the Hurt Man Rescue and Skill Climb, while Greg File of RushShelby Energy won Knot Tying.
Clark County REMC’s Jerry Applegate was third in the Skill Climb and took third in the overall.
Meanwhile, Southern Indiana Power’s Jim Applegate was second in the Hurt Man Rescue and third in Knot Tying.
Then there were the team events, where Hoosier Energy member cooperatives flexed their muscles once again by claiming three of the top four spots in the team overall.
First place went to the Clark County REMC trio of Jacob Pierce, Dakota Evans and Nathan Clayton. They won the OCR Changeout and Phase Down Line Restoration along the way.
Second place went to the Harrison REMC team of Kody Kennedy, Kyle Armstrong and Jacobb White. They finished third in the Phase Down Line Restoration and in the Mystery Event.
Coming in fourth overall was the WIN Energy REMC team of Shawn Wolfe, Alex Schnepper and Jacob Werner.
The Hurt Man Rescue was won by Whitewater Valley REMC’s Brad Wildman, Ryan Chappell and Abe Losekamp, and Decatur County REMC’s Collin Crabtree, Evan Tallent and Joe Vanderbur finished second.
The OCR Changeout was a clean sweep for Clark County. Following Pierce, Evans and Clayton were the team of Wyatt Binkley, Harley Applegate and Bo Simpson. Third place went to Jerry Applegate, Bryce Gentry and Liam McBride, who also took second in the Phase Down Line Restoration.
In the Mystery Event, Southeastern Indiana REMC’s Josh Meyer, Adam Fry and Jordan Ice came home second.
Other Hoosier Energy member cooperatives participating included Daviess-Martin County REMC, Dubois REC, JCREMC, Orange County REMC and UDWI REMC.
The next edition of the Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo will take place at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds on August 21-22, 2025.