Merrill 4-H club wins state ice cream flavor contest — again

A Merrill-based 4-H club has done it again.
The Pesobic Pathfinders 4-H Club in the Town of Pine River has been named the Grand Prize winner of the 2026 Cedar Crest Ice Cream Flavor Creation Contest, marking the club’s second win in three years. The group, led by Ann Jaroski, was recognized in January by Cedar Crest Ice Cream and Wisconsin 4-H.
Their winning flavor, Hold Your Horses, combines espresso ice cream with chocolate-covered toffee pieces and a caramel ribbon. The flavor will be produced by Cedar Crest and featured at participating ice cream parlors and scoop shops across Wisconsin and beyond during the month of July 2026 and will be available at participating Cedar Crest parlors while supplies last.
The club also took the top prize in 2024 with Paul Bunyan — a vanilla bean ice cream featuring double-dipped pretzel “logs,” maple syrup, and Butterfinger “sawdust” swirls. Paul Bunyan was also a July feature flavor that year.
Along with bragging rights, the Pesobic Pathfinders will receive a $500 prize and an ice cream party. Four other clubs across the state were named finalists and will each receive an ice cream party.

Cedar Crest Ice Cream President Ken Kohlwey said the annual contest reflects the company’s commitment to Wisconsin’s agriculture community. “We are proud to support the Wisconsin 4-H organization through our annual flavor contest,” Kohlwey said. “The project requires collaboration, teamwork, and creativity to create the next best ice cream flavor. Every year we look forward to reading the entries that come in and sharing the winning flavor with our customers.”
The contest originated in 2013 because the company wanted to find a meaningful way to connect with 4-H and to empower the agricultural community.
Some past winning flavors were so popular that they became a part of Cedar Crest’s scoop shop flavor lineup, including the Pesobic Pathfinders’ 2024 winning flavor, Paul Bunyan, as well as flavors like Wisconsin Campfire S’mores (2019 winner) and Demo Derby (2025 winner). Some of the most popular winning flavors are also available year-round in grocery stores.
Entries were judged by a panel of ice cream experts chosen by Cedar Crest. The family-owned company based in Cedarburg, Wis., manufactures more than 80 flavors of ice cream, along with frozen custard, sherbet, and sorbet at its Manitowoc, Wis., plant. Cedar Crest distributes products in several Midwest states and beyond.
Wisconsin 4-H is part of the UW-Madison Division of Extension and supports nearly 27,000 youth members through more than 1,100 clubs statewide.