UW Men Fourth at EWC Rodeo

The University of Wyoming men’s team had its best outing since last fall’s fourth rodeo, but it was only good enough for fourth place at last weekend’s Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) rodeo in Torrington.

The Pokes were consistent, scoring in four of the six men’s events, including an individual win, to tally 390 points in a tight finish among the top five teams at the latest Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) rodeo.

Chadron State College won for the second straight weekend, scoring 465 points to take over first place in the CRMR. Casper College had 435 points in Torrington, while Northeastern Junior College (Sterling, Colo.) placed third with 405 points. The Cowboys were only 15 points back, and previous regional leader Gillette College scored 375 points.

Chadron State leads the CRMR through seven rodeos with 2,715 points to head a tight race, including fourth-place UW, which is just 220 points behind the front-running Eagles.

Sandwiched in between are Gillette College in second place with 2,690 points, and Casper College, which fell a spot to third with 2,575 points.

Hunter Christensen was added to UW’s six-man team last weekend when the region’s second-best steer wrestler, UW’s Tylor Bond, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Christensen has won both bulldogging titles at the last two spring rodeos.

He kept the momentum going by winning the EWC steer wrestling title, winning both the short and long go rounds to win the average with a two-head time of 10.6 seconds. He scored 180 team points for the Cowboys.

Christensen has rapidly risen to the number two spot in the region’s individual bulldogging standings with a total of 470 points. Laramie County Community College’s Kalane Anders leads the CRMR event with 560 points.

UW’s Brady Dinwoodie, a Canadian transfer, added second-place points in the saddle bronc riding average. He won the short go round to add 140 points to the team's total.

Wellfleet, Neb., sophomore Jaden Clark teamed up with older brother Wyatt Clark of Chadron State College to place third in the team roping long go, but they failed to place in the average. However, Jaden Clark did score 40 points for the Pokes. He scored 30 more points by placing fourth in the opening round of bareback riding, but failed to mark in the short go and didn’t place in the average.

The struggling UW women’s program managed to pick up some points last weekend in Torrington. The Cowgirls notched 60 points to place ninth overall.

Sheridan College won the women’s team title with 185 points, while Central Wyoming College placed second with 165 points. Lamar (Colo.) Community College was just five points behind the Lady Rustlers.

Kailee Webb of Isabel, S.D., scored the Cowgirls’ only points by winning the barrel racing long go with a nice time of 15.22 seconds. But she knocked over a barrel in the short go and suffered a penalty that kept her from placing in the average.

Gillette College maintained its overall lead in the women’s CRMR team standings with 2,695 to outdistance second-place Northeastern Junior College, which has 1,425. The Cowgirls slipped a notch to 11th place with 320.

No rodeo is scheduled for the Easter weekend, and the next CRMR competition will be hosted by Colorado State University April 10-12.