Over Spring Break 12 UMass students traveled to Colorado State University to compete in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC), an annual three-day event which brings together the top landscape and horticulture students, top industry companies and dozens of the biggest industry manufacturers and suppliers.
These top industry employers create and judge 28 different events that test students’ skills and knowledge. The opportunity for students to demonstrate their hands-on skills to these employers is followed by a career fair at which green industry companies from around the nation are represented.
Before travelling to the event, all UMass students have an opportunity to polish their résume and do some interview practice at one of the career centers on the UMass campus. Some return from the competition with job offers in hand, well before they graduate.
The UMass NCLC Team was made up of students from Landscape Contracting, Arboriculture, Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Turfgrass Management, and Applied Plant and Soil Sciences. The team was supervised by Michael Davidsohn from Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and Kristina Bezanson from Natural Resources Conservation.
“None of this would have been possible without the support of our alumni donors, corporate donations and the continued support of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals and the Massachusetts Arborist Association,” explains Mike Davidsohn.
“We’re thankful to our alumni and industry donors for generously supporting our students as they prepare to enter the Green Industries!”
Overall UMass placed 20th out of 53 Colleges and Universities.
The top three students or student teams in each event are recognized on the last day of the event at the closing ceremony, and several of our students were included.
Eli Spencer (BSLA): 2nd Place for Interior Landscape Design
James Walston (BSLA): 3rd Place for 3D Exterior Design
The team of Dante Filadoro (Turfgrass Science & Mgmt), Jake Rasmuson (Landscape Contracting) and Matteo Mariano (Landscape Contracting) earned 3rd Place in the timed Landscape Plant Installation event.
Our students did well across several team-based events using skills we actively teach at UMass:
Dante Filadoro (Turfgrass Science & Mgt) and Sean Weber (Sustainable Community Development) earned 4th Place in Hardscape Installation.
Henry Holmes (Arboriculture) and June Moulis (Urban Forestry) placed 11th in Arboriculture Techniques
Sean Weber (SCD) and Connor Salmon (Building Construction Technology) placed 11th in Landscape Maintenance Operations.
Matteo Mariano (Landscape Contracting placed 13th for the Tractor Loader Backhoe competition.

The UMass NCLC Team for 2025 was:
Ben Haines (Landscape Contracting)
Matteo Mariano (Landscape Contracting)
Jake Rasmuson (Landscape Contracting)
Eli Spencer (BSLA)
James Walston (BSLA)
Nolan Doyle (Applied Plant & Soil Sciences)
June Moulis (Urban Forestry)
Henry Holmes (Arboriculture)
Dante Filadoro (Turfgrass Science & Mgmt)
Jack Collins (Turfgrass Mgmt)
Connor Salmon (BCT)
Sean Weber (SCD)