Merced Union High School District

Somehow El Capitan High’s soon-to-be senior Mady Dietz finds the time to play four sports and participate in Future Farmers of America, raising and showing goats. Dietz’s calendar fills up fast with golf, flag football, basketball and track and her other extra curricular activities, but still maintains a 4.4 GPA. “It's definitely a challenge,” she said. “It's a lot to juggle. It takes a lot of discipline and just staying with it. It's a lot of early mornings and late nights.” In between summer rounds of golf with her dad and basketball workouts on her own, Dietz made the trip to Sacramento recently to the California State Fair where she and goat Cesar won Grand Champion Market Goat, which is awarded to the goat judged best overall, considering factors like breed, weight, conformation and condition. The title came with $2,500 in prize money and a belt buckle, which will be added to her collection of over 30 belt buckles won showing animals at various events. Dietz’s picture will also go up on a banner that will hang with past Grand Champion winners. “I was super excited,” Dietz said. “It's something that I never thought I would ever get to do. It's probably one of my top moments. It’s been one of my dreams to win.” El Capitan Agriculture Department Chair Kaylen Davenport says Dietz’s accomplishment is huge, considering she was up against competitors from across the state. “Winning Grand Champion Market Goat at the California State Fair is one of the highest honors a livestock exhibitor can achieve in our state,” she said. “Exhibitors from across California bring their very best animals, so the competition is intense. To come out on top means your animal stood out as the best among hundreds, not only in structure and quality but also in how it was presented. It’s the livestock equivalent of winning a state championship in sports.” The prize comes one year after she was named the 2024 Supreme Champion Challenge Exhibitor, Champion Large Animal Exhibitor and Champion Sheep Exhibitor at the State Fair last summer. The supreme champion title was awarded based on Deitz’s knowledge and skills of her project and related industry.

Raising animals is a family tradition. For four generations her family have been farmers. Her parents met while showing animals at the Los Banos Fair. Mady grew up around the family ranch and began showing animals at the age of 9. Her older brother Tyler, who was recently named the El Capitan boys basketball coach, also won Grand Champion Market Sheep at the state fair in 2018 “We all do it together as a family,” said Mady’s mother Stephanie Dietz. “So just like basketball, where I'm taking stats, mom's out there blow drying animals, dad's out running them to help with her we all just do it together. It’'s just one of those things where (Mady) says she wants to do it and we all double down and go.” Stephanie Dietz says it takes a village to keep up with her daughter “She brings the same level of intensity to everything she does, so we just come along right beside her and support her, because she's got the drive to do it,” Dietz said. “You normally see kids, they're either all in at FFA or they're all in at sports, right? And she's like, all in on everything.” Dietz’s summer has also included AAU basketball with El Capitan, where the team is coming off it’s Central California Conference championship after sharing the title with Atwater last season. She’s spent hours on the golf course playing with her dad and also taking lessons in Turlock. Flag football practice starts next week. Mady also works almost year-round with her animals, spending close to two hours a day when it comes time to bottle-feeding, grooming, and looking after the goats and sheep she breeds, raises and sells. 

The Dietz family will have up to 250 goats and sheep on their ranch during the year. “Mady has a remarkable amount of work ethic, passion, and determination,” Davenport said. “She genuinely cares about her animals and the livestock industry, and it shows in how she handles and presents her animals. She doesn’t cut corners, she sets high standards for herself and constantly seeks to improve. Mady's advisors and coaches love that she is coachable, observant, and willing to learn from every experience.” Next up for Mady and Cesar is the Fifth Annual California Youth Ag Expo in Tulare July 30 through August 3 where they will compete against approximately 150 people from across the state. “Once that's done, I get to take a break from showing for a minute, which is nice,” Dietz said. “I can just focus on school and my sports. I just have flag football and golf going on at that time.” With her schedule, that’s as close to a break as she gets.

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media and can be reached at sjansen@muhsd.org.