UW Teams Sweep Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo

There is no place like home.

The University of Wyoming closed out another successful Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) season when both the Cowboys and Cowgirls swept team titles at the home Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo over the weekend.

They will send full teams to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) Sunday-Saturday, June 15-21, with 13 UW student-athletes qualifying for the big show. The top two teams in all 13 collegiate regions earn automatic CNFR bids.

On Sunday, the Cowboys added to their impressive season-long dominance of the CRMR, securing the regional title for the seventh consecutive year, winning the season finale with 550 points. It marked the eighth win in 10 combined fall and spring rodeos for the UW men. Casper College, which clinched second place in the CRMR, had 510 points, while Gillette College was third with 425.

The Cowgirls, who won five rodeos this past season and were runners-up in four others, won over the weekend with 431 points to outdistance runner-up Laramie County Community College, which had 260 points. Regular-season champion Gillette College came in third with 250 points.

In all, the Cowboys scored 5,445 points to close out the year, while second place Casper College had 4,558.3. Both will represent the region at the CNFR. The Gillette women and UW Cowgirls made it a clear two-team race to earn automatic bids to college rodeo’s biggest event, with 3,748.3 points and 3,464.3, respectively.

“I was very happy with the effort from both teams on the weekend,” UW Coach Seth Glause says. “It’s great momentum to head to the CNFR after winning the last regional rodeo.”

He says his student-athletes worked hard all year long to achieve this goal.

“Now, it’s on to the CNFR with the goal to win a national championship,” he adds. “We are going to enjoy this moment and then get back to work and be ready to compete in Casper.”

During the Laramie River Rendezvous, the Cowboys received scoring from all six points team members.

Team ropers Bodie Mattson, of Sturgis, S.D., and partner Troupe Coors, from Loveland, Colo., wrapped up their regional title on the strength of a second-place finish in Sunday’s short go. They entered Sunday’s final with the long round’s top time. Mattson also added points in tie down roping.

UW had a pair of competitors finish in the top four of steer wrestling. David Gallagher, of Brighton, Colo., was third in the bulldogging average, while regional champion Jacob Wang, of Baker, Mont., placed fourth overall.

Dixon Tatrie, of Youngstown, Alberta, Canada, had his best showing of the season in saddle bronc riding, posting a pair of solid rounds, scoring 161 points on two head to wind up second in the average.

Greybull’s Colton Farrow closed out a consistent bareback riding season, splitting fifth and sixth place in the average to help him win the regional title. Rhett Whitt, of Valentine, Neb., added final points in steer wrestling.

A pair of UW Cowboys, not selected for the weekend points team, came away with top-five finishes in their respective events. Emmit Ross, from Jackson, who was the region’s top bull rider, capped the season with a win in the weekend competition; and Thermopolis’ Porter Mccumber was fifth in saddle bronc riding.

The Cowboys had three individuals finish in the top four of the all-around this season for competitors scoring points in two or more events. Witt was second, followed by Tattrie and Mattson.

The Cowgirls scored heavily in goat tying to pad their scoring, with all four points team members helping with the haul.

As the final competitor up based on splitting the top time in the goat tying long go, Landry Haugen, of Sturgis, S.D., just needed a clean run and a good tie to wrap up the individual win. But, before the sophomore made her approach after dismounting her horse, the goat broke the tether line and ran away. Haugen was awarded a rerun, where she was even better than her first-round time, going 6.4 seconds for a two-run time of 13-flat. Haugen, who was the regional champion in breakaway roping, also added points in that event.

Two of her teammates also had a good weekend in the same event. Josie Mousel, of Colman, S.D., came from the fourth position after the opening round to finish behind Haugen, and teammate Riata Day, from Fleming, Colo., who shared the long round’s best time with Haugen, split third and fourth in the average.

The fourth points team member, Layni Stevens, from St. Lawrence, S.D., and partner Tate Talkington, of Northeastern Junior College, were sixth in the team roping competition.

Haugen, Mousel and Stevens were second through fourth in the all-around this season.

Five other Cowgirls, not selected for the final points team, also placed individually in the final rodeo of the year.

Thermopolis’s Emme Norsworthy had the top short go time in barrel racing to put her over the top to win the average. In the process, she clinched the region’s barrel racing title. Three of her UW teammates also placed in the barrels’ overall average. Halle Hladky, of Gillette, was the competition’s runner-up; Makenzi Scott, from Rock Springs, placed fifth; and one place back was Molly Rotenberger, of Ludlow, S.D. Tatum Runner, from Wellington, Colo., was fourth in breakaway roping.

The final rodeo also determined who qualified for the CNFR. Glause says he has not yet picked men’s or women’s points teams, and he has a tough choice to make among the 13 qualifiers. Cowboys who qualified for finishing in the top three in their respective individual events are Mattson and Coors in team roping; Wang and Witt in steer wrestling; Farrow in bareback riding; and Ross and Stefan Tonita, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, in bull riding.

Cowgirl qualifiers are Mousel, Day and Haugen in goat tying, with Haugen also qualifying in breakaway roping; Jordyn McNamee, of Buffalo, also qualified in breakaway roping; and competing in barrel racing will be Norsworthy and Wheatland’s Rayne Grant.