UW rodeo teams sees success
The University of Wyoming (UW) celebrated the conclusion of the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) season as both the Cowboys and Cowgirls claimed team titles at the Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo, held at the UW Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Arena in Laramie on April 25-27.
According to an April 28 UW press release, the university will be sending full teams to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), held at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper this June, with 13 UW student athletes qualifying for the big show.
Prior to heading into the season finale, the Cowboys wrapped up their seventh consecutive CRMR team championship.
Nationally, the Cowboys are sitting in eighth place for team points, while the Cowgirls are third among the collegiate regions.
In total, the Cowboys scored 5,445 points to finish the year, while second-place Casper College accumulated 4,558.3 points. Both teams will represent the region at the CNFR.
The women’s team from Gillette College nudged out the Cowgirls for the top seat finishing with 3,748.3 points, while UW secured 3,464.3 points.
Team update
The Cowboys swept the three-day event with a total of 550 points, while Casper College secured second with 510 points. Falling in third place was Gillette College with 425 points.
The Cowgirls, who won five rodeos this past season and were runners-up in four others, won over the weekend with 431 points, while Laramie County Community College finished in second place with 260 points, and regular-season champions Gillette College secured third with 240 points.
“I was very happy with the effort from both teams on the weekend,” UW Rodeo Head Coach Seth Glause states. “It’s great momentum to head to the CNFR after winning the last regional rodeo.”
He continues, “The student athletes worked hard all year long to achieve this goal, and now it’s on to the CNFR with the goal to win a national championship.”
According to Glause, the teams are enjoying the celebratory moment but will get back to work preparing for the CNFR in Casper.
Rendezvous results
During the Laramie River Rendezvous, Team Ropers Bodie Mattson of Sturgis, S.D. and Troupe Coors of Loveland, Colo. wrapped up their regional title with a second-place finish in the short go and entered the final round with the top time. Mattson also added points in tie-down roping.
UW had a pair of competitors finish in the top four for steer wrestling.
David Gallagher of Brighton, Colo. was third in the bulldogging average, while regional champion Jacob Wang of Baker, Mont. placed fourth overall.
Showcasing his best ride of the season in saddle bronc riding was UW’s Dixon Tattrie of Youngstown, Alberta, Canada, posting a pair of solid rides and scoring a total of 161 points on two rides, which landed him second in the average.
Local Greybull talent Colton Farrow ended his bareback riding season sharing fifth and sixth place in the average to help him win the regional title.
Adding points to the UW men’s team was Rhett Witt of Valentine, Neb. in steer wrestling, while Emmit Ross of Jackson – the region’s top bull rider – ended the season with a win.
Thermopolis’ Porter McCumber finished in fifth place in saddle bronc riding.
Concluding the season, the UW’s men’s team had three individuals finish in the top four in the all-around – Witt in second place, followed by Tattrie and Mattson.
According to the UW press release, Landry Haugen of Sturgis, S.D. was awarded a rerun in the goat tying event, where she was even better than her first-round time, going 6.4 seconds for a two-run time of 13 seconds flat.
Haugen earned the regional champion title in breakaway roping, securing points in that event as well.
Teammate Josie Mousel of Colman, S.D. moved from the fourth position after the opening round to finish behind Haugen, while teammate Riata Day of Fleming, Colo. shared the long round’s best time with Haugen, splitting third and fourth in the average.
During the event, Thermopolis’ Emme Norsworthy had the top short-go time in barrel racing to win the average, and in the process, she clinched the region’s barrel racing title.
Three of her UW teammates placed in the overall average for barrel racing, including Halle Hladky of Gillette who placed second, Makenzi Scott of Rock Springs who secured fifth and Molly Rotenberger of Ludlow, S.D. in fourth.
The final rodeo also determined who qualified for the CNFR, but Glause has not yet picked the men’s or women’s points teams, and he has a tough choice to make among the 13 qualifiers.
Cowboys who finish in the top three in their respective individual events are Mattson and Coors in team roping; Wang and Witt in steer wrestling; Farrow in bareback riding and Ross and Stefan Tonita of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada in bull riding.
Cowgirl qualifiers are Mousel, Day and Haugen in goat tying, with Haugen also qualifying in breakaway roping. Jordyn McNamee of Buffalo qualified in breakaway roping as well, and competing in barrel racing will be Norsworthy and Wheatland’s Rayne Grant.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
