UW’s McNamee Qualifies for Breakaway Roping Short Go; Cowgirls Fourth at CNFR

With a College National Finals Rodeo breakaway roping short go bid on the line, the University of Wyoming’s Jordyn McNamee, from Buffalo, knew she drew a fast calf to end the third round Friday night in Casper.

She entered with consistent 2.9- and 2.8-second runs earlier in the week. Another good run on her final attempt would secure her spot among the top 12 ropers in the short go Saturday night in the Wyoming Ford Center.

“I knew that calf ran really hard, they missed him once, and they were long on him once this week,” McNamee said. “I knew that I didn’t have the best draw coming in the third round, but I figured I’d better just make the best of it and try to make the short go Saturday night.”

She did just that with a respectable 3.5-second time to give her a three-run time of 9.2, earning McNamee a chance for the finals with the sixth-best overall time in the average. The leader has posted a 7.3-second total.

McNamee had a good year, finishing third in the regional breakaway roping standings. She was not selected to the four-member UW women’s points team this week, but that hasn’t slowed her as she enters her first championship round.

“I’ll take a stab at it Saturday and try and win something,” she said. “I have nothing to lose now. I’ll try and go for it.”

Entering Saturday’s final night, the UW Cowgirls are a solid fourth in the team standings with 195 points, just 20 behind third-place Tarleton State University. Gillette College and Southwest Texas College are tied for first with 285 points.

The UW men are 25th overall with 110 points. Tarleton State is well on its way to winning its second straight national title, leading the pack with 585 points, while Missouri Valley College is second at 380.

Only one other UW competitor was up in the final round Friday.

Landry Haugen, from Sturgis, S.D., also competed in breakaway roping, but she missed her calf. She had a no-time in her first round and was 2.6 in the second round.

UW will have three other team members in Saturday’s championship round.

Both Josie Mousel, from Colman, S.D., and Haugen will compete in goat tying. Mousel enters the short go as the No. 7 seed, while Haugen sits 11th. Mousel has a three-run time of 20.1 seconds, which includes the best time of the week at 5.7 seconds. Haugen has posted a 20.7 in what is shaping up to be a close competition. The leader is 18.9 in the aggregate.

The Cowboys will have just one representative in the short go: bulldogger Jacob Wang, from Baker, Mont., who is sitting third in the steer wrestling standings with an aggregate time of 17.1 seconds on three runs. The top time coming in is 14.4 seconds.

Greybull’s Colton Farrow had an outside chance to qualify in the bareback riding competition, but three other competitors posted higher scores, leaving the UW Cowboy on the outside in the 15th position.

The top 12 times and marks in all events qualify for the short go.

UW Coach Seth Glause is optimistic about how his four student-athletes will perform in Saturday’s short go.

“Jacob had two really good runs. He was kind of long on his first one, but he’s capitalized on the last two,” Glause says. “I’m pretty proud of him and his efforts this week. He’s competing for a national title, and I expect him to compete at a very high level Saturday.”

Glaus says McNamee is in a good spot in breakaway roping and expects the Cowgirl to remain consistent in the championship round.

“She’s made three smart runs and has a really good opportunity Saturday night,” he says. “She’s come in here, has done well like she has all year and has given herself an opportunity.”

Glause says both Mousel and Haugen have good chances to add points to the team total when they compete in goat tying.

“Josie absolutely lit up the Ford Wyoming Center with her run when she was 5.7, and we just know that she will leave it all in the arena,” he adds. “Landry is going to have to make a solid run to give us an opportunity to get some points in the round and in the average.”