Cowboys End Fall Season Atop Regional Rodeo Standings, With Cowgirls Second

Both University of Wyoming teams did enough in the final rodeo of the fall season over the weekend in Lamar, Colo., to remain among the leaders in the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR).

For the first time this season, the Cowboys did not place first, taking second at the Lamar Community College (LCC) rodeo with 335 points, while Casper College won for the first time outright with 603.3 points to seriously slice into the UW men’s CRMR lead.

After five fall rodeos, the Pokes tallied 2,470 points, but the T-Birds cut the deficit to just 36.67 points going into the spring season next March. Gillette College is third in the standings, nearly 1,000 points behind Casper College.

The Cowgirls also had a tough final weekend, finishing a distant fourth at LCC. The season-long dominance of the Gillette College women continued when the Pronghorns put up 450 team points -- 200 ahead of runner-up Eastern Wyoming College. Chadron State College (CSC) was third over the weekend with 205 points, and the Cowgirls mustered 165.

The Gillette College women have led from the get-go and have racked up 2,428 points to clearly take control of the CRMR. The Cowgirls remain second with 1,543.3 points, and CSC is a distant third at 775.

“This fall season helped our athletes put themselves in contention for CNFR berths in June,” UW Coach Seth Glause says. “We have some things we will be looking to work on and continue to have a strong spring season.”

At LCC, four of the six members on the men’s points team produced for the Cowboys.

Greybull’s Colton Farrell placed for the fifth consecutive rodeo to wind up as the region’s top bareback bronc rider by placing second in the weekend average; Dixon Tattre, from Youngstown, Alberta, Canada, placed sixth in the saddle bronc riding competition; Rio Nutter, of Rapid City, S.D., split third in the tie down roping average; and Bodie Mattson, from Sturgis, S.D., opened with the best time in tie down roping to finish sixth in the average.

Other UW Cowboys, not on the selected men’s points team, also placed during the final rodeo.

Emmit Ross, of Jackson, won the bull riding competition for the third time this season, while teammate Stefan Tonita, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, was fourth. Rhett Witt, of Valentine, Neb., had two solid runs to win the tie down roping event, while Thayne Kimbrough, of Ohiowa, Neb., was the third Cowboy to win an individual event when he took the steer wrestling title. Sam Gallagher, of Brighton, Colo., was fifth in the same event. Laramie’s Colter Nunn and partner Kyler Clark, from Yoder, combined to place fourth in team roping.

Only Josie Mousel, from Egan, S.D., scored points for the Cowgirls points team over the weekend, putting together a pair of strong goat tying runs. She won the long go with the round’s top time and split second in the short go to take the average.

Other UW Cowgirls, not on the selected women’s points team, also placed during the final rodeo.

Landry Haugen, from Sturgis, S.D., had a strong weekend. She was the top breakaway roper, winning the short go after being the runner-up in the opening round. She also was fourth in the goat tying average. Raegen Delancey, from Cheyenne, split fifth in breakaway roping. Three Cowgirls took the fourth through sixth positions in barrel racing: Abbey Youngvost, from Shackopee, Minn.; Emme Norsworthy, of Thermopolis; and Gillette’s Halle Hladky.

“We are thankful to all of those who have continued to support the Cowboys and Cowgirls as they have competed this fall,” Glause adds.