UW Women Open Spring Season with Second

“Contender” is now a legitimate way to describe the University of Wyoming women’s rodeo team.

It has been more than four years since the Cowgirls have put together a team that has to be taken seriously for the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) team title.

The UW women opened the spring season with a strong second-place finish at last weekend’s Lancer Rodeo, hosted by Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) in Torrington. But the main storyline is that the Cowgirls jumped to the No. 2 spot in the overall CRMR points standings.

With their second-place finish at EWC, the Cowgirls slipped past the former runner-up team Northeastern Junior College and hold a 17-point cushion. For the season, UW has 1,395 points, and trails overall leader Gillette College by 278.3 points. The Pronghorns have 1,673.3 points after six rodeos, with four more remaining on the spring docket.

At Torrington, UW’s goat tying duo of Josee Vogel and Amelia Anderson didn’t win the event, but they amassed 200 team points to push the club to its runner-up finish. As a team, the Cowgirls scored 240 points to finish second to front-running Gillette College, which topped UW by 30 points to take the team title.

Vogel, from Pavillion, put together a pair of consistent rounds to finish second in goat tying. She was second in the opening round, split the runner-up position in the short go, and wound up second in the overall average. Anderson, of Forsyth, Mont., came through with fifth-place points.

The Cowgirls’ final 40 points came from Isabel, S.D., team member Kailee Webb in breakaway roping. She recorded the third-best time in the opening round, but did not place in the short go and finished out of the top six scoring average.

The UW men didn’t make up any ground on the CRMR leaders, finishing fifth at EWC -- the same place the Pokes hold in the regional standings.

CRMR leaders Chadron State College (CSC) dominated the EWC rodeo with a combined fall-spring season best 815 points. The Eagles easily outdistanced runner-up Central Wyoming College, which had 408.3 points. Laramie County Community College was third with 373.3 points, and Casper College was fourth with 283.3 points. The Cowboys were fifth with 235 points.

Regional bull riding leader Jacob Smith, from LaSalle, Colo., continued to dominate rodeo’s toughest event when he strung together two consistent rounds. He split second place in the opening round, and was the only rider to cover his bull in the short go, scoring 83 points. His first-place finish gave the team 165 points.

UW’s only other scoring was in bareback riding when Casper’s Brock Wahlert finished fourth in the average.

For the season, CSC has opened up a huge regional lead in the team race. The Eagles have 3,095 points, while EWC is second with 2,107.5. Casper College is third with 1,928.3; Gillette College has 1,805; and the Cowboys are fifth with 1,740 points.

Only the top two teams in the men’s and women’s divisions automatically qualify for this summer’s College National Finals Rodeo at the Casper Events Center.

The CRMR will have the weekend off, with action resuming March 18-20 at the Gillette College rodeo.

For a complete list of EWC rodeo results, click here. For overall team and individual CRMR standings, go here.