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Cow madness at Lake County Fair in Grayslake

Lake County Fair visitors who braved Friday afternoon’s damp weather were treated to some dairy barn craziness.

It was the seventh Crazy Cow Relay at the Grayslake fairgrounds. Miss Lake County Fair Meghan Opolka, 21, of Antioch, joined the teenagers and children who participated on eight teams of four in the Crazy Cow.

For the uninitiated, each Crazy Cow team member received a small carton or 12-ounce plastic bottle of milk, depending on their age. When called inside a square pen by master of ceremonies and assistant dairy barn superintendent Rick Doolittle, the four teammates went to each corner.

To start the action, the first team member had to quickly down the milk and move to the next corner with a calf in tow. The process continued three more times.

At the end, each teammate reached a cow and had to do one squirt from its udder into a small cup. They then milked a fake cow containing liquid and filled the cup to a line.

“You can’t predict anything in this Crazy Cow race,” Doolittle said during the action.

Sunglass-wearing Trace Miller, Tim Brodzik, Shelby Grinnell and Marina Madsen snagged the first-place ribbon for team Manbearpig with a time of 1:23. Manbearpig edged the 1:23.09 clocked by Goat, which featured Mata Stilp, Sara Lincicome, Braden Grinnell and Opolka.

“It’s fun,” said Miller, 14, of Trevor, Wis. “On a rainy day like this, there’s nothing better to do.”

Gates to the county fair open at 8 a.m. Saturday for livestock events, with the rest of the action starting two hours later. The fair closes at 11 p.m.

Images: Friday’s Lake County Fair

  Mata Stilp, 14, of Wilmette, back, and 11-year-old Sarah Lincicome of Beach Park, milk a fake cow during the Crazy Cow Relay in the dairy barn Friday at the Lake County Fair in Grayslake. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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