UW Women Place Third at College National Finals Rodeo

With two team members scoring points in the short go, the University of Wyoming women’s team placed third at the College National Finals rodeo (CNFR) Saturday night in Casper.

The Cowgirls made a final push to score 382.5 points during the weeklong completion. The University of West Alabama won the CNFR’s women’s competition with 698.3 points, while Montana State University was the national runner-up with 593.3 points.

The Cowboys placed 12th overall with 345 points in the men’s competition, with Clarendon College winning with 855 points. McNeese State University was second at 790 points, and third went to Texas A&M University-Commerce at 690 points.

UW sent five competitors to Saturday’s short round -- two Cowgirls and three Cowboys -- with four placing in the top six in their respective events.

-- Kenna McNeill, of Hobbs, N.M., came from the sixth position entering the short go to split third place in goat tying with Kaylee Comier of McNeese State University at 24.8 seconds. Paige Rassmussen, from Montana State, was the goat tying champion, coming from the No. 3 spot in the short go with a four-run time of 24.3 seconds.

McNeill had a chance to be among the top competitors on the final run of her UW career, but she bobbled her tie just enough to put her third overall. She helped the Cowgirls in team points when she had the third round’s best time at 5.8 seconds -- her top time of the week.

-- The other UW Cowgirl short go qualifier was Thermopolis’ Emme Norsworthy, who placed fifth in barrel racing with a four-run time of 56.97 seconds. She had a 14.34 time in the short go. Weeklong leader Taycie Matthews of the University of West Alabama won the event with an overall time of 55.53.

Three UW Cowboys also made the short go, and the trio all managed to score team points on the night:

-- Bodie Mattson, of Sturgis, S.D., suffered a bad break in tie down roping. Coming in as the third seed, all the UW Cowboy needed was a 10.4-second run to take over the national lead. His calf broke out straight, Mattson got his rope over the head cleanly but, as he ran toward the calf, he stumbled and fell to the arena dirt. He quickly got up, tried to recover but bobbled his tie just a bit in an attempt to make up time. The clock stopped in 11.1 seconds -- his slowest time of the week. It cost him, as he finished fourth overall with a time of 39.5 seconds on four head. Defending national tie down roping champion Kincaide Henry, of Texas A&M University-Commerce, repeated with a four-run time of 35.8 seconds.

-- Kemmerer’s Donny Proffit closed out his stellar bareback riding career for the Cowboys by placing sixth with a clean, steady 78.5-point ride on Classic Frontier, which was the fifth best mark of the night. He wound up with 309 points, compared to national champion Weston Timberman’s 325.5. He is from Clarendon College.

-- Cam Jensen, of Hyannis, Neb., and partner Tanner McInerney, of Gillette College, were the final team to qualify for the team roping competition. They added team points when they roped their steer in 10.3 seconds -- the short go round’s fourth best time. They successfully stopped the clock on three of four rounds to place 10th overall at 24 seconds.