04/20/2026
I’ve spent a decent part of the day reflecting on the weekend spent cooking at the Rib Cook Off Association 2025 World Championship in Shawnee, OK. I feel safe and saying that our team was absolutely blown away with the support, love, and well wishes from our friends, family, and colleagues. To say this challenge was huge would be a massive understatement. This was a Super Bowl in the sport of competitive barbecue. There were 142 teams from over 25 states and three European countries (Belgium, Germany, Netherlands). The field included numerous world champions from prior years. The word “stacked” as an understatement. 
We are not a corporately sponsored team in any way. We are three people with an unbelievable support system that wants to see us succeed. We are forever grateful for your support and your love.
We were proud of what we turned in. As with anything else, there were always things that we can (and will) improve on, but what better way to find out than going up against the absolute best in the world. Iron sharpens iron!
With that being said, out of 141 teams to turn in baby back ribs, we finished 16th. 1.6 points separated us from a world championship. That is a massive accomplishment and the highlight of the weekend!
We will go back to the drawing board and work on process improvements for future competitions. This was only our third barbecue competition to participate in.
Scores (max 141.5):
Wings: 126.5 (85th of 110)
Steak: 123.6 (75th of 101)
Baby Back Ribs: 138.5 (16th of 141) 🥳
St. Louis Spare Ribs: 132 (105th of 142)
Ribs combined Overall: 270.5 out of 281 points available giving us 49th. In this field, 2 points was enough to fall 70-80+ places!
Thank you Jody and Dirk for putting on an amazing contest and giving us rookies a platform to learn and compete on!
Thank you to David Bouska and JR Hatfield for always being there to field countless random questions on.
The smoke will roll again soon in the chase for bbq glory!
