Competing for the University of Wyoming during Saturday night’s short go at the College
National Finals Rodeo in Casper were, top to bottom, junior Karson Bradley, of Big
Piney; Chadron Coffield, of Yuma, Colo.; Seth Peterson, from Minot, N.D., on the right;
Kemmerer’s Donny Proffit, a sophomore; and Garrett Uptain, of Craig, Colo. Bradley
successfully turns the corner on the first barrel to place sixth in barrel racing.
Coffield prepares to catch his steer in the bulldogging event. The senior placed fourth
in the championship round. Peterson races to catch up with his steer in the same event.
The senior placed one position back of Coffield. Proffit had his personal best ride
of the week in the short go to place 11th in the average. Uptain takes a moment to
give thanks after his saddle bronc ride. The senior, who entered the short go as the
No. 3 seed, was bucked off on his final ride. (Christopher Veach/Casper College and
Morgan Tyree/Northwest College Photos)
Both University of Wyoming teams placed eighth in the final standings Saturday at
the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper.
The Cowboys scored heavily Friday in the final performance and again in the short
go the next night to compile 500 points. Clarendon College, of Clarendon, Texas, won
the men’s national title, with 890 points; Panola College, of Carthage, Texas, was
the runner-up, with 790 points; and third went to Casper College at 755.
The UW women tied for eighth place with Black Hills State University, of Spearfish,
S.D., with 205 points each. Montana State University, located in Bozeman, Mont., took
the team title, with 590 points; Southwestern Oklahoma State University, of Sayre,
Okla., was the runner-up, with 432 points; and third went to Cochise College -- with
campuses in Douglas and Sierra Vista, Ariz. -- at 403.
A pair of UW steer wrestlers paced the Cowboys in the CNFR’s short go round Saturday
in the Ford Wyoming Center.
Teammates Chadron Coffield, from Yuma, Colo., and Seth Peterson, from Minot, N.D.,
went fourth and fifth, respectively, in the overall bulldogging standings to lead
the five-member Cowboys team that reached the CNFR’s final round of the weeklong rodeo.
Peterson came from the sixth-seed position to move up one spot in the final round.
The senior was good on his takedown of his steer but got hung up trying to turn him
over, costing him a couple of seconds. He finished with an 8.1 for 32.1 on four head.
Coffield needed a four-second run to take the national lead as the No. 4 seed but
also had just a bit of a struggle to turn his steer over. The senior had a 6.1 for
a four-run time of 29.8. Both he and Peterson scored points for the team by placing
among the top eight average winners.
As for the rest of the UW men:
-- Donny Proffit, of Kemmerer, was the night’s first rider out of the chutes and had
his best ride of the week when he marked 80 points on Painted Coast to finish 11th
in the average. He covered four head with 296 points. The sophomore came out determined
to go for broke after suffering his worst ride of the week Friday night. He entered
the short go securing the 12th and final spot after entering the CNFR as the nation’s
top rider in accumulated points this past season.
-- Jase Staudt, of Nathrop, Colo., and his heeler partner, JC Flake, of Gillette College,
had an 11.5 in team roping -- the third-best time of the night. They had a 6.5 but
were saddled with a five-second penalty when Flake only caught one heel. They tied
three steers during the four-round week and had an accumulated time of 27.4.
-- Garrett Uptain, from Craig, Colo., suffered his first no-time of the week in the
saddle bronc competition when Poser tossed him just four seconds into his ride. The
senior, who won the regional title this past season, entered the short go as the fourth
seed with 221 points to finish ninth overall.
Two UW Cowgirls also competed in the short go:
-- Karson Bradley, from Big Piney, rode her horse cleanly around the cloverleaf pattern
to stop the clock in 14.45 seconds to give her a four-run time of 57.71, placing her
sixth in the average. The junior was the nation’s top barrel racer coming into Saturday’s
final round.
-- Taylour Latham, of Roosevelt, Utah, finished her UW career in goat tying as the
eighth-best goat tying competitor. She stopped the clock in 8.6 seconds, good enough
to move up two spots when she entered the short go as the 10th seed. She had a four-round
accumulated time of 30.6.
