Teagan Sowers is the queen so nice, they crowned her twice. 

One month before the 18 year old from Centralia was crowned queen of the Audrain County Youth Fair, Sowers served as queen of the Centralia Youth Fair. 

She was crowned for the second time this year at the coronation ceremony held Friday evening at the Audrain 4H Center. Sowers was honored alongside her fellow court members 17-year-old Jaden Decker, of Centralia, who was named King, as well as Junior Prince Gavin Stowers, 10, of Centralia; Prince Jensen Decker, 15, of Centralia; Princess Gabriella Knipfel, 16, of Benton City; and Junior Princess Kinsley Dixon, 9, of Laddonia.

Sowers is headed to State Fair Community College in the fall where she plans to study agribusiness with a minor in modern animal science, but before that, she will be competing for her third crown at the Missouri State Fair in August.

“I’ve been working for a year and a half towards the goal of being State Fair Queen and being the best I can be,” Sowers said.

The Iowa native has been involved in 4-H and youth fairs since she was five years old, but this is the first year she was eligible to run for queen. Sowers moved to Centralia when she was 12 years old.

This year, Sowers could be seen at the Youth Fair showing a variety of show pigs. Over the years, Sowers said she has shown almost every species of livestock, but during her freshman year of high school, she wanted to get involved in her own project. 

“My dad took me to an auction, and we picked out a couple of feeder pigs with just the intent of raising them and eating them and nothing more,” she said. “As the years went by, I slowly got more involved, and that’s how I found myself showing pigs.”

Sowers said that when spotting a prize pig, the judges are looking for big-boned and hairy pigs.

“Nothing you can eat, I guess, but that’s what makes prize pigs right now,” she said.

When stepping into the ring, Sowers said it is important to remember that animals are going to be animals and to keep frustrations in check. 

“Keep yourself confident, keep yourself cool, and just be prepared for anything to happen,” she said.

Confidence is key this year for her counterpart Jaden Decker as well. 

Jaden is a Centralia FFA Chapter officer whose FFA Agroscience project took home ninth place his freshman year and third place at nationals last year when he was a junior. Outside of FFA, the Centralia High School senior also participates in track, trap shooting and wrestling. 

After graduation, Jaden plans to attend Brigham Young University to study evolutionary science. 

Jaden and his younger brother, Jensen, were both showing Hereford Cattle in the ring at the Audrain County Youth Fair this year – something the family has been doing for years. Even with his experience, Jaden said acting confident when he’s showing is still one of his biggest challenges. 

“I think one of the hardest things for me has been acting confident even if I don’t feel like it sometimes,” Decker said. “I used to just show and now that I’ve acted more confident, I’ve been able to do a lot better.” 

Throughout his years showing cattle, Jaden said he has learned a lot of new skills when it comes to setting up his heifers up. 

“I’ve learned a lot about how to fit animals and how to make them look their best,” Jaden said. 

The youth fair isn’t just a learning opportunity for exhibitors. For Sowers and Jaden, who represent the Audrain County Youth Fair this year, the part younger generations should be focusing on is education. 

“I would encourage people to know more about how the products you get are acquired and how they’re made,” Jaden said. 

Sowers echoed his sentiments and said it’s important to get youth involved in agriculture especially today when there is a decline in farmers under the age of 35. 

“It starts at these county levels — showing them that being in the ring and hanging out with your friends is fun,” Sowers said. “Agriculture is fun and it’s something that we need to have in our lives. That really is the backbone of our country.”