<p>2013 World Champion Rock Jack Building champions – Tom Birkmaier, left, and Cory Miller.</p>

The team of Tom Birkmaier and Cory Miller teamed up today to claim the title in the 2013 World Champion Rock Jack Building Contest at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds. The contest was part of the Wallowa County Stockgrowers Ranch Rodeo.

Birkmaier, a rancher at Crow Creek, was individual champion in 2011 but did not compete last year when the contest introduced the two-person team format.

The Birkmaier-Miller team finished their rock jack in 5 minutes 30 seconds.

They weren’t the fastest team, but in this contest quality counts twice as much as speed.

The fastest team, 2010 champion Pat Dougherty with Eric Peters, a relative and rock jack novice from Florida, completed their rock jack in 5:19. The finished third behind the team of brothers Ty and Wyatt Warnock, who took 9:33 to build their rock jack but still placed second.

Fourth in the four-way contest was the team of Jason Cunningham and Beth McClaran, with a time of 8:50.

The champion rock jack will be auctioned off by the Stockgrowers Saturday evening at Cloverleaf Hall at the organization’s dinner/dance, along with a second deluxe model rock jack made by Miller and Birkmaier, with help from some of the other contestants.