UW Rodeo Teams Close Out Fall Season With a Pair of Third-Place Finishes

If the University of Wyoming men’s rodeo team hopes to win its sixth straight Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) title, and the Cowgirls their fifth in six years, both have five months to think about it.

The two clubs wrapped up the first portion of their two-season rodeo schedule with a pair of third-place finishes at the concluding fall rodeo at Lamar (Colo.) Community College.

At the halfway point of the 2023-24 season, the UW men are third in the regional standings, while the Cowgirls are sitting second. Just the top two teams in each division earn automatic bids to next summer’s College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper.

Gillette College returned to the top of the CRMR standings with a solid weekend in taking the Lamar Community College team title. For the season, the Pronghorns have accumulated a total of 2,315 points through five fall competitions, while runner-up Casper College has 2,280. The Cowboys are 320 points out of the second-place slot with 1,960.

The Gillette College women have matched their teammates in leading their division with 1,880 points, opening up a more than 700-point lead against the Cowgirls, who have 1,167.5 going into the spring schedule. Laramie County Community College (LCCC) is third after five rodeos with 1,097.5 points.

At Lamar, the Gillette College men won for the third time this season in compiling 585 points, while Casper College was second with 480 points and the Cowboys third at 285.

The Pronghorn women took the Lamar rodeo with 550 points, LCCC was the runner-up at 345, and the UW women were 20 points behind the Golden Eagles for third.

For the Cowboys, Saratoga’s Kaden Berger won the all-around at Lamar, scoring nearly all of the Cowboys’ overall team points. He had two strong tie down rounds, placing second in the long go and returned Sunday to win the short go, putting him first in the average. In steer wrestling, he was a consistent fourth in both rounds to place fourth in the average.

The only other points team member to get on the score sheet was Greybull’s Colton Farrow, who was sixth in bareback riding.

Other UW Cowboys placed in the weekend rodeo but were not on the selected six-man points team. Jacob Wang, from Baker, Mont., last year’s regional steer wrestling champion, was the competition’s top bulldogger; regional bull riding leader Emmit Ross, of Jackson, continued his winning ways, splitting second place; and Veteran’s Bodie Herring took sixth in tie down roping. He combined with Casper College’s Jade Espenscheid to place third in team roping.

Josie Mousel, from Egan, S.D., was the Cowgirls’ top points team producer at Lamar, scoring 160 points in goat tying. She won the opening round and had the second-best time in the short go to place as the average’s runner-up.

Riata Day, from Fleming, Colo., and teammate Landry Haugen, of Sturgis, S.D., split fourth place in the goat tying competition.

UW women not on the points team also placed in the final fall rodeo: Olivia Lay, of Elbert, Colo., won the breakaway competition, and teammate Jordyn McNamee, from Buffalo, was the runner-up; and Hadley Furnival, from Casper, was second in barrel racing.

At the halfway mark of the fall/spring seasons, the CRMR individual event races are taking shape. The top three in each event earn automatic bids to the CNFR.

After the fall season, the contenders in individual events for the Cowboys are: Berger is the region’s top bulldogger, and Cam Jensen, of Bingham, Neb., sits third; Bodie Mattson, of Sturgis, S.D., is second in the tie down roping competition; Farrow is third in bareback riding; and Rio Nutter, from Rapid City, S.D., is the region’s second-best header in team roping, while partner Reece Wadhams, of LCCC, is the top heeler.

Among the UW women’s team, the Cowgirls hold the top four breakaway roping positions, headed by Lay and followed by Haugen, McNamee and Mousel. Haugen also is third in goat tying, and Mousel is fourth; and Furnival is the third-best barrel racer.

The spring season begins next March at Gillette College.