UW Mens Rodeo Team Moves into Second Place in Region

April 1, 2013

A solid weekend showing at the Colorado State University (CSU) rodeo enabled the University of Wyoming men’s rodeo team to climb into second place, inching the Pokes closer to the overall Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) lead.

The Cowboys were just 65 points from winning in Fort Collins, Colo., in the second of five spring rodeos. Overall CRMR leader Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) won team honors with 625 points, while the UW men scored 550 on the strength of a couple of individual performances.

UW overtook Gillette College for second place in the regional standings and holds just a 50-point lead over the Pronghorns. EWC leads the pack with 3,053.3 points, while the Cowboys have 2,770. Just the top two schools in the region qualify full teams to the College National Finals Rodeo this summer in Casper.

Senior Tyler Schnaufer from Pueblo, Colo., moved into individual tie down contention with a win in Fort Collins. Schnaufer scored 180 points, winning both rounds of competition and also the average. Teammate Clayton Van Aken, a Descanso, Calif., junior, picked up third place in the average.

junior Justin Moldaschel of Stanton, Minn., won the second round of bareback riding to place second in the average. He earlier had the second-best ride in the opening round.

Wyatt Clark, a Wellfleet, Neb., senior, added fifth-place points in saddle bronc riding, while teammate Thomas Smith of Eden was fifth in the steer wrestling average. Sheridan's Casey Collins, whose points didn't count in the overall UW team standings, was sixth in the bulldogging competition.

The UW women continued to struggle in the early going of the spring season, scoring just 100 points at the CSU rodeo.

The Cowgirls’ lone points came in the team roping competition when senior Lydia Coe of Salinas, Calif., partnered with Dalton Ward of Otero Community College to place second in the average. The pair and the winning team of Derek Weinreis and Levi O’Keefe of EWC were the only teams with successful times in the short go.

Despite finishing sixth at the CSU rodeo, the Cowgirls maintained second place in the overall regional standings. Northeastern Junior College (Sterling, Colo.) remains the overall leader with 2,130 points, while the UW women are just 167.5 points back. Two-time defending CRMR champion Gillette College is third with 1,920 points.

Central Wyoming College took the women’s team title at Fort Collins with 380 points while Chadron State College was 50 points back for second place.

EWC hosts this weekend’s regional rodeo.

For complete individual and team results from the CSU rodeo, click here.

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