Wesley Thompson and Sydni Ringenberg, both of Lexington, represented Nebraska at the 2025 National Make It With Wool competition held in conjunction with the American Sheep Industry Association Convention, Jan. 16-18, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The wool contest has been conducted for 77 years.
Thompson was first runner-up in the 2025 National Make It With Wool Contest junior division, and Ringenberg placed among the Top 10 participants in the senior division. Thompson received a steamer, sewing machine travel bag, Pendleton and American Woolen wool fabrics, Coats & Clark thread assortment, Schmetz gift bag, MIWW tote bag and various sewing prizes. For his entry, Thompson constructed and modeled a replica of a World War I uniform with repurposed burnished bronze buttons, a collar insignia and a communications signal corps shoulder patch.
To coordinate with the jacket, he constructed jodhpur trousers with 20 buttons on the lower legs. Thompson was also the Junior Social Media Award winner where the National MIWW Facebook page engaged audiences from around the county to select their favorite outfit. He is the son of Robert and Tina Thompson.
Ringenberg received Pendleton and American Woolen wool fabrics, Schmetz gift bag, Coats & Clarks thread assortment and sewing notions. For her entry, Ringenberg constructed and modeled a pre-embroidered navy wool coat and berry wool Ponte knit dress. She digitalized the coats design to create a one-of-a kind, embroidery motif designed belt and .
