With the close of the regular season near, the University of Wyoming men's team has just two more rodeos to move into the top two of the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR).
After a decent showing at last week's Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) rodeo in Torrington, the Cowboys moved up one spot in the overall CRMR standings. Only the top two teams in the region receive automatic bids for this summer's College National Finals Rodeo in Casper.
Casper College remains the CRMR leader with 3,540 total points through eight regular season rodeos. Gillette College is second with 3,301 points, while the Cowboys are 316 points behind the Pronghorns heading into the season's final two rodeos. The next rodeo is April 20-22 at the annual Ropin' and Riggin' Days hosted by Casper College.
After being shut out the previous week, UW rebounded at EWC to place fourth overall with 375 points. Central Wyoming College took the team title with 510 points, while Casper College scored 460. Third went to Gillette College with 435.
The region's leading team ropers -- UW's Tyler Schnaufer, a junior from Pueblo, Colo., and heeler Shay Carroll of Northeastern Junior College -- won both rounds to win the average. UW scored 210 points in the event -- 180 by Schnaufer -- and the remaining 30 from Clayton Van Aken, a Descanso, Calif., junior and partner Lydia Cole, a UW junior from Salinas, Calif.
Van Aken and Schnaufer scored all of the team's points last weekend. Van Aken remained the CRMR leader in tie down roping, placing second in the average at EWC. Schnaufer reached the short go, but did not place among the top six.
Two other UW team members placed in their respective events, but their points did not count in UW's overall team production. Cheyenne senior Jack Tyner was sixth in the tie down roping average. He partnered with UW Cowgirl teammate Jori Lorenzi, a Laramie senior, to place sixth in the team roping competition.
The Cowgirls placed in three separate events and scored 140 points to take fifth at EWC. Chadron State College won the team title with 540 points, followed by Northeastern Junior College with 410; Central Wyoming College had 360; and EWC 160.
Lander sophomore Heather Bregar had the highest individual finish for the Cowgirls, placing fourth in the goat tying average. Loni Dowton, a freshman from Ellis, Idaho, added 40 team points in barrel racing, and teammate Coe scored 30 more in team roping.
For complete individual and team results from the EWC rodeo, click here.
