UW Cowgirls Take CSU Rodeo Title

Coming off their toughest rodeo of the season two weeks ago, the University of Wyoming Cowgirls bounced back in a big way, coming through with their first regional team title of the spring season.

The Cowgirls scored in all three women’s events, totaling 360 points, edging Casper College by just 10 points at last weekend’s Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) competition at Colorado State University (CSU). The host Lady Rams were a distant third with 180 points.

With just two spring rodeos left on the spring docket, the UW women have all but punched their ticket to this summer’s College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper. Just two schools in the CRMR send full teams to the CNFR, and the UW women are a lock.

Gillette College has a firm grip on the regional lead with 2,663.7 points -- a full 700 points ahead of the Cowgirls. But UW has outdistanced third-place Casper College (CC). The Lady T-Birds have 1,210 points, and the Cowgirls will be tough to catch with just the CC and UW rodeos left in the spring season.

The Cowgirls’ win was fueled by another strong performance in goat tying, where UW has three team members among the top six.

Senior Amelia Anderson made a strong push for second place overall in the individual tying standings when she won both rounds of competition and the overall average at CSU. She posted two strong rounds to score 60 points for each round, plus another 60 for winning the average, giving the Forsythe, Mont., native a perfect 180 total points.

Wyoming native Casey Reimler added 60 points by placing sixth overall in the event. The Rozet freshman now sits sixth in the overall average. Teammate Cori Terry, a McKinnon freshman, who didn’t place over the weekend, is still the event’s leader.

Reimler was a three-event place-winner at the CSU rodeo when she added fifth-place points in barrel racing. The team’s final 40 points also came from Reimler, who wrapped up her busy weekend in breakaway roping. She didn’t place in the overall average, but did manage to nail down the third-best time in the opening round. She missed on her second head.

The UW men continued to struggle against the leaders. The Cowboys were seventh at the CSU rodeo and remained stuck in fifth place overall in the regional standings.

The Gillette College men made a push for the team championship by winning last weekend’s rodeo in Fort Collins. The Pronghorns tallied a whopping 795 points to easily outdistance runner-up Sheridan College by 375 points. However, the Generals still lead the regional pack with 3,770 points, while Gillette College has 3,225. Defending men’s champion Chadron State College has 2,723 points. The Cowboys have scored 2,160 points through eight fall and spring rodeos.

The Pokes scored all 170 points last weekend in a pair of roughstock events. Casper senior Brock Wahlert was steady in both rounds of competition and wound up third in the bareback riding average, scoring 110 team points. He moved up to fifth in the overall bareback regional standings.

After a long dry spell, bull rider Jacob Smith managed to place third in the average. The LaSalle, Colo., junior sits fifth overall in the event’s standings with just two rodeos remaining for him to get to the third-place spot in individual points.

The top three competitors in each event qualify for the CNFR.

Regional teams have Easter weekend off; the next CRMR competition is the Ropin’ and Riggin’ Days Rodeo hosted by Casper College April 21-23. The season wraps up April 27-29 with UW’s annual Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo.

For individual and team results from the CSU rodeo, click here. For overall regional statistics, click here.