Regional Leading UW Women's Team Brings Talents to Home Rodeo |  
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April 24, 2007 -- The University of Wyoming Cowgirls will show area fans why they are the region's best women's team when UW hosts the 58th annual Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo this weekend at the Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Teaching Arena.
The Cowgirls are coming off their sixth first place in seven rodeos this season after taking the Northeastern Junior College (NJC) title last weekend in Sterling, Colo. For the year, the UW women are running away with the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) team race with a huge lead over rival Central Wyoming College (CWC) of Riverton.
The Cowgirls have 2,470 points and hold a 1,020 point lead over CWC with just three rodeos left on the regular season schedule.
This weekend marks the only time UW's men's and women's teams will compete at home. The Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo begins Friday, April 27, at the Hansen Arena with the first of four performances at 7 p.m. Slack begins at noon the same day.
Performances are scheduled on Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m. and the championship round is at 1 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $5 per person for each session and UW students will be admitted free.
The Cowgirls were sparked again by sophomore sensation Nikki Steffes, who scored all the team's points in Sterling by winning two of the three women's events. The molecular biology/chemistry major from Vale, S.D., won both the barrel racing and goat tying events to solidify her regional leads in both events. Her 270 points were enough to give the Cowgirls the NJC team title, while runner-up CWC scored 155.
Steffes won the long go in barrel racing and scored fifth place points in the short go to win the average. She was only sixth after the goat tying long go, but had the best time in the championship round to win the average.
The Cowgirls would have added even more points to their overall team total, but for the first time this season defending national goat tying champion Kayla Nelson was not on the four-member team. The child development senior from Buffalo, S.D., won the breakaway roping event for the first time this season and then added second place points in her specialty event, goat tying, to win the NJC all-around title with her 280 points. She edged teammate Steffes for the all-around honors by 10 points.
Other women's team scores at Sterling were Chadron State College (CSC) 100, Eastern Wyoming College 90, Laramie County Community College (LCCC) 60, Casper College (CC) 50, NJC and Lamar Community College (LCC) both scored 40 and Sheridan College had 10.
The UW men made a late push to qualify for this summer's College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper with their best effort of the spring season. Even though the team placed third at NJC, the Cowboys narrowed the gap in the overall regional standings with second place EWC.
Only the first and second place teams in the region and the top three individuals in each men's and women's events receive CNFR berths.
The Cowboys scored 435 points at NJC, giving the team 2,630 for the season and leaving them trailing the Lancers by 585 points.
Two UW Cowboys won their events to help lead the team to its third place finish. Neil DeZort, a civil engineering freshman from Kalispell, Mont., won the opening round in bareback riding and took the average to climb back into the overall regional chase. He trails leader Joe Mundorf of CWC by just 65 points.
Regional team roping leaders Chad Wahlert, a business senior from Fort Morgan, Colo., and partner Chris Cover of EWC, split the long go and added third short go points to win the average. Wahlert is the region's top heeler, holding a 200 point lead over both NJC's T.J. Watts and EWC's Jared Bilby.
A pair of UW Cowboys combined to score 100 points for the team in steer wrestling. Garrett Henry, an animal science senior from Douglas, and Sheridan's Tony Larsen, were fifth and sixth, respectively.
Non-team member Weston Heath, a business freshman from Owyhee, Nev., won the bull riding event, marking the first time this season a UW Cowboy has taken the title.
CWC extended its overall regional lead by scoring 615 points, while LCC placed second with 535. Placing fourth was EWC with 290, followed by Colorado State University (CSU) at 230, Mesa State College (MSC) 225, Sheridan College (SC) 175; LCCC 140, CSC 90, CC 75, and NJC 50.
Listed are the top six in the average from last weekend:
Barrel racing -- Nikki Steffes, UW, 36.29; Annie Joanette, CWC, 36.51; Jamie Perkins, SC, 36.55; Chelsie Schaefer, EWC, 36.56; Michelle Robinson, LCC, 36.63; Becky Grimm, CSC, 36.70.
Breakaway roping -- Kayla Nelson, UW, 7; Amanda Bolerjack, EWC, 8; Kali Olson, CSC, 8.7; Tia Brannan, LCCC, 19; Lori Amick, UW, 2.8 (on one); Rehme Sutton, UW, and Lorissa Lide, LCC, 3.4 (both on one).
Goat tying -- Nikki Steffes, UW, 16.6; Kayla Nelson, UW, 16.8; Kayla Dobbins, CWC, and Rehme Sutton, UW, both 17.3; Amanda Bolerjack, EWC, and Kori Jorgensen, CWC, both 17.5
Saddle bronc riding -- Andy Clarys, CWC, 146; Wyatt Smith, 144; Steven Johnson, SC, 139; Wacey Marr, CWC, 138; Pat Carpenter 134; Seth Glause, CWC, 75 (on one).
Bareback riding -- Neil DeZort, UW, 144; Joe Mundorf, CWC, 140; Ty Kenner, EWC, 139; Andy Hollibaugh, CSC, and Thomas Baker, SC, both 137; James Baldwin, UW, 132.
Bull riding -- Weston Heath, UW, 74; Shadd Fredericks, SC, 71; Douglas Owens, UW, 68; Kyle Wiedes, UW, Jason Blasdale, MSC and Tyler Shelstad, all 66 (all on one successful ride).
Tie down roping -- Chase Johnston, CSU, 19.7; Richie Maher, UW, 21.1; Jarrod Soucie, MSC, 22.4; Spenser Miller, CSU, 23.4; Jim Roedeske, CC, 23.6; O.J. Huxtable, CC, 27.7.
Steer wrestling -- Jake Colletti, LCC, 11.2; Wyatt Smith, CWC, 12.5; Clint Doll, CWC, 13.3; Jesse Cooper, UW, 17.7; Garrett Henry, UW, 20.7; Tony Larsen, UW, 22.5.
Team roping -- Chris Cover, EWC/Chad Wahlert, UW, 15.8; Tyler Lauridsen/Josh Filmore, LCC, 16.6; Jacob Day, LCCC/Brian McNamee, UW, 20.4; Justin Smith, UW/Mitch Malone, NJC, 20.6; Brandon Edward, MSC/Jesse Jolly, LCC, 7.3 (on one); Rudy Faulds, NJC/Brian White, CSU, 7.6 (on one). Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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