UW Mens Rodeo Team Rebounds at CSU, Women Tie for Second

The University of Wyoming men’s rodeo squad was back on top of the standings when the Cowboys took their seventh Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) team title Sunday at the Colorado State University (CSU) rodeo.

The Cowboys amassed 705 points to topple the previous week’s CRMR winner, Casper College, by just 30 points. Gillette College was third with 425. With the latest win, and just two rodeos remaining in the regular season, the UW men surpassed the 6,000-point mark with 6,635 through eight competitions. The runner-up T-Birds have 4,705 points, and third-place Laramie County Community College is next with 3,080.

Just the top two clubs in the region automatically qualify their six-man teams to this summer’s College National Finals Rodeo in Casper.

The Cowboys once again used a balanced scoring attack from their six-man points team at CSU:

-- Brice Patterson, from Bozeman, Mont., continued his hot streak by winning the bareback riding competition for the second straight week with a pair of solid rides. He had the second-best mark in the opening round and won the short go to give him the average. He accounted for 240 of the team’s points when he also placed fourth in the steer wrestling average. He won the all-around by placing high in two separate events.

-- Regional all-around leader Garrett Uptain, from Craig, Colo., won the opening round of saddle bronc riding and was fifth in the short go to give him the win in the average for the second straight week.

-- Austin Hurlburt, of Norfolk, Neb., placed in both rounds of steer wrestling, recording the fifth- and second-fastest times to give him second in the overall average.

-- For the second straight week, Kemmerer’s Donny Proffit was second to Patterson in bareback riding. He split fifth place in the opening round and had the third-best mark in the short go.

-- Cameron Jensen, from Hyannis, Neb., added to the team’s output by placing fifth in the steer wrestling average to give three team members points in bulldogging. He was not among the top six place finishers in the opening round, but he used the third-fastest time in the short go to place in the overall average.

-- Chadron Coffield, from Yuma, Colo., had the third-fastest opening round in tie down roping, but he did not place in the average.

Three UW non-points team members did well at CSU: Greybull’s Colton Farrow placed fourth in bareback riding, and teammate Drake Amundson, of Wheatland, took fifth in the same event. Rio Nutter, from Rapid City, S.D., was fourth in tie down roping and split third in steer wrestling.

The Cowgirls remained in line to capture the team’s fourth straight CRMR title after placing second at the CSU rodeo.

The UW women split the runner-up position with Eastern Wyoming College with 320 points apiece. Casper College won the weekly rodeo with 395 points. For the season, the Cowgirls opened up a small lead against Gillette College after eight rodeos. UW has 2,245 points with two remaining competitions left in the regular season, while the Pronghorns have 1,995. Casper College is third with 1,745 points.

Only two of the four members of the UW women’s points team placed at CSU:

-- Taylour Latham, from Roosevelt, Utah, scored 180 points for the Cowgirls, placing third in two events. She had the fourth-fastest times in both rounds of goat tying, and she then used a third-place short go time in breakaway roping to place her in the average.

-- Faith Hoffman, from Kiowa, Colo., came through with two solid goat tying rounds. She was the runner-up in the opening round and was third in the short go to give her the runner-up spot in the average.

Among the Cowgirls’ non-points team, Gillette’s Halle Hladky hit the trifecta, winning both rounds of barrel racing and the average; Natalie Leisinger, of Highmore, S.D., took fifth in goat tying; and Reata Beck, from Albin, split sixth place in goat tying and was the breakaway roping runner-up.

Casper College hosts the annual Ropin’ and Riggin’ Days rodeo this weekend, and the season ends with UW’s home rodeo April 22-24.