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The Rice Consolidated High School boasts some high-performing barbecue teams as one of their teams, “The Pit Raiders,” earned their way to the Nationals competition in Branson, Missouri from June 6 to June 9.
Their success has garnered some community support as Prasek’s Family Smokehouse donated hundreds of dollars in practice material to aid their BBQ preparation for the upcoming competition.
The Pit Raiders reached out to the store to place an order for about $400 worth of meat to cook for practice. Prasek’s decided to let the team use the materials for free through a donation.
“In support of the team’s education, barb e c ue ent hu s i asm and thoughtfulness of Prasek’s, we donated the meat to them,” according to Lannah Stoner, Prasek’s representative, “...Prasek’s was only a small part of the great success of this competitive team.”
The skill and competitive nature of these students has led the Pit Raiders to great heights this season as they along with their Rice counterparts the “Smokin Queens” have been having quality outings throughout the season.
Now with the National High School BBQ contest in view, the Pit Raiders comprising of Brenna Villerreal, Julian Gasca, Aaron Drlik, Gavin Tate and Ashten Tate have a chance to take their ski l ls to a wider platform.
They proved that they were ready for that level of competition with a strong performance at the state-level BBQ competition. Out of 91 teams competing for the Texas title, the Pit Raiders took 14th place to claim an invitation to Nationals. They were one of 10 school districts represented in the top 15 of the standings. They will also be joined by Columbus team “Smokin Mommas” after their top 25 placement as well.
As the Pit Raiders prepare to take on the biggest competition of their careers, the support from the school and the community has given them an advantage that they hope to use for another quality performance at Nationals.
