Posted 2:44 p.m. Friday, March 2, 2012
[caption id="attachment_10285" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Blake Westling was named the second best grocery bagger in the nation at the National Grocers Association 26th Best Bagger Championship on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas. "]
[/caption]UW-La Crosse junior Blake Westling is turning heads with his supermarket checkout skills.
Westling recently was named the second best grocery bagger in the nation. After practicing all fall semester in 105 degree heat and blindfolded, Westling took his bagging skills to the National Grocers Association 26th Best Bagger Championship on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas.
Westling bagged 31 items in 44 seconds. But he was graded on more than his speed. He says he missed first place by 1.3 points because a glass bottle he bagged was not completely surrounded on all four sides by something else. That’s considered part of the “bagging technique.” Other skills judges measured included speed, weight distribution among the bags and the bagger’s style, attitude and appearance.
Westling drew from his five years of experience bagging groceries at Byerly’s in Eagan, Minn. He started there in high school and continues to work at the supermarket during summer and winter breaks from college. Starting in September, he practiced with a trainer from Byerly’s via Skype from his La Crosse apartment. The two used the blindfold to help Westling master the “weight distribution” category, where he needed to learn not to be deceived by a grocery item’s heavy appearance. The extreme heat was meant to simulate the nerves he might feel on competition day.
Those nerves were present, he notes, under the bright lights and TV cameras at the Best Bagger Championship. The stakes were high as first place would win $10,000 and the opportunity to be on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Earning second, Westling says, is still a great deal. He won $5,000 and plans to start a Roth IRA and use the rest toward next year’s college tuition. The biology major and chemistry minor says that will help with future plans to go on to medical school.
[/caption]UW-La Crosse junior Blake Westling is turning heads with his supermarket checkout skills.
Westling recently was named the second best grocery bagger in the nation. After practicing all fall semester in 105 degree heat and blindfolded, Westling took his bagging skills to the National Grocers Association 26th Best Bagger Championship on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas.
Westling bagged 31 items in 44 seconds. But he was graded on more than his speed. He says he missed first place by 1.3 points because a glass bottle he bagged was not completely surrounded on all four sides by something else. That’s considered part of the “bagging technique.” Other skills judges measured included speed, weight distribution among the bags and the bagger’s style, attitude and appearance.
Westling drew from his five years of experience bagging groceries at Byerly’s in Eagan, Minn. He started there in high school and continues to work at the supermarket during summer and winter breaks from college. Starting in September, he practiced with a trainer from Byerly’s via Skype from his La Crosse apartment. The two used the blindfold to help Westling master the “weight distribution” category, where he needed to learn not to be deceived by a grocery item’s heavy appearance. The extreme heat was meant to simulate the nerves he might feel on competition day.
Those nerves were present, he notes, under the bright lights and TV cameras at the Best Bagger Championship. The stakes were high as first place would win $10,000 and the opportunity to be on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Earning second, Westling says, is still a great deal. He won $5,000 and plans to start a Roth IRA and use the rest toward next year’s college tuition. The biology major and chemistry minor says that will help with future plans to go on to medical school.