University of Wyoming rodeo team member, Nikki Steffes, is featured on a national Web site as its collegiate athlete of the week.
The Vale, S.D., molecular biology/medical microbiology junior, is the CBS College Sports "Verizon Wireless Showcase Athlete of the Week."
A versatile all-around member of the UW rodeo team, Steffes is the eighth athlete nationally to be interviewed for the new online publication. Her interview, along with photos, can be found at www.cstv.com/verizon/.
Steffes is the only rodeo athlete so far who has been featured on the weekly CBS Sports Web site publication. Other student athletes featured compete in baseball, women's softball, track and golf.
Jacob Osterhout, a writer for the weekly feature, says Steffes was selected because rodeo is a unique sport and that Steffes is a top student at UW. She carries a 4.0 grade point average and has made the UW President's Honor Roll two straight years.
Osterhout interviewed Steffes about how she began her rodeo career, success in the arena, the events she competes in and future plans. Steffes is the defending CNFR all-around champion and national goat tying runner-up. She helped lead the Cowgirls to the national championship last summer, the program's fourth overall.
Currently, she is sixth in the barrel racing average at this week's CNFR at the Casper Events Center, and needs to tie one more goat Friday night to reach Saturday's short go. As the school's all-time points leader, Steffes and her Cowgirl teammates are seventh overall, but are still in contention to repeat as national champions
