Questa High School FFA students brought home a sweep of awards in welding and livestock at the 2025 Taos County Fair, with several projects advancing to the New Mexico State Fair.

Ricardo León won first place in welding for his firewood rack, while Darren Trujillo earned first with a coffee table. Kaylei Cordova placed second with her coffee table, and Diego Ortega took third in the same category.

In the Extension Cord Stand division, Darren Trujillo and Kaylei Cordova teamed up to win first place, followed by Juan Cisneros and Larry Roybal in second, León and Noah Rael in third, and Deigo Ortega and Matthew Vigil in fourth. Zach Carter won second place for his coat rack.

The group welding project — a large grill built by James Garcia, Michael Fernandez, Atreyu Segura, Darren Trujillo, Kaylei Cordova, Matthew Vigil, Diego Ortega and Zach Carter — earned first place and sold for $1,750 at auction, with proceeds supporting the welding and FFA programs.

Top-placing projects, with the exception of the grill, advanced to the State Fair in Albuquerque. Ricardo León’s firewood rack earned second place in the non-agriculture recycled metal class. Darren Trujillo’s coffee table placed fourth in the same class, and Darren Trujillo and Kaylei Cordova’s extension cord stand finished third in the agriculture recycled/repurposed material.

In livestock, Questa freshman Jessica Jackson showed lambs, including the fair’s Grand Champion lamb. Jeremiah Ortega showed both 4-H and FFA goats, with his open goat taking first place.

Additionally, the Questa High School students manned the FFA Red Barn at the New Mexico State Fair on Sept. 8. The FFA Red Barn is run by the New Mexico FFA Association to educate the public about agriculture and raise funds to support its members’ activities and programs.