Slow Start for UW Teams in Opening Spring Rodeo

March 20, 2012

It was not the way the University of Wyoming rodeo teams expected to begin the spring portion of the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) schedule.

The Cowboys were in the middle of the pack to place fifth at last weekend's Gillette College rodeo, while the Cowgirls failed to score any points.

The slow start didn't hurt the Cowboys too much in the overall CRMR standings. The UW men hung on to second place behind front-running Casper College. The T-Birds hold a 245-point lead over UW in the regional standings.

Northeastern Junior College (Sterling, Colo.) won the opening spring rodeo with 685 points, while the host Pronghorns were the runners-up with 485. UW was in fifth place with 375 points.

Pueblo, Colo., native Tyler Schnaufer, a UW junior, teamed with Northeastern Junior College's Shay Carroll to win the team roping title, placing high in both rounds of competition. They were second after one round and had the best time in Sunday's short go to take the average.

Gillette freshman Eric Gewecke returned to the lineup to place second in the saddle bronc average after sitting out most of the fall season due to injury. He split the opening round lead with Central Wyoming College's Charlie Kogianes and placed third in the short go for his runner-up finish.

Another first-year Cowboy, Hunter Hoover from Ulysses, Kan., was fifth in bull riding. All-around points leader Clayton Van Aken, a sophomore from Descanso, Calif., rounded out UW's scoring with a sixth-place finish in the tie down roping average.

Five other UW Cowboys placed in their respective events, but their points didn't count in the team's overall standings.

Baley Lenhart, a Sheridan sophomore, and Cody junior Garrett Lowham were third and fourth, respectively, in bull riding. Team roping partners Brad Schieck, Riverton, and Jackson's Riley Millward, both seniors, were third in the average. In fourth was graduate student Jordan Steele from Aladdin and his team roping partner Kal Ready from Eastern Wyoming College.

No UW Cowgirl on the four-member team or other club members placed in the three women's events average.

The Cowgirls slipped one place to sixth in the overall CRMR team standings with their second consecutive rodeo without scoring a single team point. The Gillette College women won their own rodeo with 480 points, while Chadron State College was a distant second with 220.

Colorado State University will host this weekend's CRMR rodeo.

For complete team and individual results, click here.

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