2026 CNFR Champs: National collegiate rodeo champions crowned in Casper
The 2026 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) concluded on June 20 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper.
Nine college cowboys and cowgirls were crowned champions at the end of the week-long event, including one impressive cowgirl representing the University of Wyoming (UW).
Goat tying, breakaway and barrels
The champion goat tier was UW Cowgirl Josie Mousel, a junior from Colman, S.D. who clinched the title with an average of 24.4 seconds on four head. Mousel also picked up points in the breakaway roping to take home the women’s all-around title.
In second place was Faith Lundberg of Tarleton State University, followed by Alyssa Gary of McNeese State University.
In the breakaway roping, Texas Tech Cowgirl Jessi Everett finished in first place with a total of 9.9 seconds on four runs.
University of West Alabama Cowgirl Ivy Bone finished second, followed by South Plains College Cowgirl Kassidy Robertson in third.
The barrel racing crowned Texas A&M University’s (TAMU) Devin Young as champion, with a total time of 55 seconds across four runs.
Raegan Chance of Northwest Mississippi Community College came in second, followed by Ceily Simpton of TAMU in third.
Bulls and broncs
In the bull riding, Odessa College Cowboy Hayden Welsh came out on top with an average score of 251.75, highlighted by an 88.25-point ride during the short go.
Lane Vaughan of Western Texas College finished second, followed by Brock Cooper of Treasure Valley Community College in third.
The champion saddle bronc rider was Tagg Bond of Clarendon College, who finished the week with an average score of 340 points across four rides.
Jack Ford of McNeese State University came in second, followed by Dane McPhail of Fort Scott Community College.
The bareback riding saw a three-way tie for first between Missouri Valley College Cowboy Kooper Heimburg, Clarendon College Cowboy Carson Hildre and Tarleton State University Cowboy Daxtyn Feild, who split the championship with scores of 326.50 points on four rides.
Roping and wrestling
Bismarck State College Cowboy Tyler Hansen won the tie-down roping title with an average time of 38.3 seconds on four runs.
Cutter Pareo of Eastern New Mexico University came in second, followed by Clint Southworth of the University of Tennessee-Martin in third.
In the team roping, Marcus Marriott of Blue Mountain Community College and Sam Saunders of Treasure Valley Community College took first place with a total time of 23.1 seconds on four head, highlighted by a lightning-fast 4.4-second short go run.
Belden Cox and Jett Stewart of Weatherford College finished second overall, followed by Southern Utah University duo Blake Bowler and T.J. Bowler in third.
In the steer wrestling, Clarendon College’s Andrew Morian claimed the championship with an average of 17.1 seconds on four head.
Parker Sandstrom of Bismarck State College finished second, followed by Clay Tom Hurt of Sam Houston State University in third.
Teams and all-around
The 2026 Champion All-Around Cowboy was Bismarck State College Cowboy Tyler Hansen who finished the week with a total of 310 points, and the 2026 Champion All-Around Cowgirl title went to Mousel who swept the competition to finish the week with a total of 395 points.
Clarendon College finished as the champion men’s team with a total of 1,100 points and TAMU came out on top as the champion women’s team with a total of 692.5 points.
The UW women’s team finished second overall, collecting a total of 405 points while the UW men’s team came in sixth with a total of 485 points.
The CNFR is slated to return to Casper in June of 2027.
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
