Phaedra Stefanakis had the perfect job during the annual timber sports tournament at Peavy Arboretum Saturday.

She got to yell.

"I'm a park ranger, so I yell a lot at people," Stefanokis said.

The 2007 Oregon State University graduate spends from April to October at Yosemite National Park. Most of her yelling is at crowds of 250 or more people during presentations.

"I know how to project," she said.

That came in handy Saturday. She had to shout instructions to college students from Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Colorado who gathered to demonstrate the delicate - and sometimes not-so-delicate - art of the forest. They split logs, set chokers, climbed ropes and generally got very cold and muddy.

Stefanakis loves it. In fact, even though she graduated last year, she came back just to help organize the event.

Nicole Kimzey knows how Stefanakis feels. She already feels nostalgic. "This my last go-for-it, my last hurrah," the OSU senior said.

Kimzey definitely went for it. She took first place in the women's choker-setting competition. The 23-year-old from Port Angeles, Wash., flew over the logs in an obstacle course.

"I love running and jumping and leaping over things," she said.

OSU's timber sports team sponsors the annual tournament. Team members prepare for it by going out to the woods of Peavy Arboretum at least tw ice a week.

OSU forestry student Mike Johnson can't get enough time in the woods. He not only competes in timber as a student but spends his summers competing professionally.

He comes by his love of the forest naturally. "I have a lot of relatives in the timber industry," he said. "My dad's a log truck driver."

This can be a difficult time of the year to compete, Kimzey said. Mud can be a killer. However, she said, muddy weather gives OSU's team an advantage over their competitors from Idaho, Montana, Central Oregon and drier locations.

"Here in Oregon, we're used to the wet, used to the rain," she said.

Idaho won the competition. Montana captured second place, COCC placed third and Oregon State took fourth.