UW Rodeo Teams Hang on to Regional Leads

With just one rodeo remaining on the fall schedule, the University of Wyoming teams are the squads that the rest of the regional clubs will be chasing when action picks up again in the spring.

The UW men were solid once again over the weekend, placing second at the Lamar Community College rodeo, as the Pokes stretched their overall Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) lead against the two-time defending champion Sheridan College men.

The Cowboys were second to Casper College at Lamar, Colo., as the surprising T-Birds picked up their first win of the season with 575 points. The Cowboys were just 35 points behind the Casper men, while Sheridan College was third with 485 points.

With just the Laramie County Community College (LCCC) rodeo left on the fall season, the UW men have a solid lead in the overall regional race with 2,215 points. The two-time regional champion Generals of Sheridan College are second with 1,665 points, while Gillette College is third with 1,430.

On the other side, the Cowgirls are clinging to first place in the women’s division and have strung together enough points at each rodeo since the opening weekend. While the UW women were second at the Lamar Community College rodeo, the Gillette College women put together their best effort of the season to dominate the weekend rodeo.

The Pronghorns scored 445 points, while second-place UW trailed with 270 points, cutting the Cowgirls’ overall lead to just 20 points in the CRMR standings. UW has 1,055 points through four fall rodeos, while Gillette College has narrowed the lead with 1,035 points, with just the final LCCC rodeo left on the schedule.

For the second straight week, the team-roping duo of JC Flake, of Mesa, Ariz., and Caden Camp, of Belgrade, Mont., led the way for the Cowboys, scoring 330 points. They split the opening round and were second in the short go to win the overall average.

Camp, a freshman, added 70 team points when he placed fifth in the steer wrestling average.

Two other Pokes rounded out the scoring for the UW “points team.”

Jase Staudt, of Nathrop, Colo., was fourth in calf roping, with a pair of top-six times in the long and short go rounds. He also was fifth in team roping’s opening round with UW partner Dusty Taylor, from Craig, Colo., but the pair had a no-time in the short go and did not place in the average.

The final team points came from Seth Peterson, from Minot, N.D., who was third in the opening round of the team roping competition with partner JD Kirwin, of Gillette College. But they, too, failed to get in a successful time in the short go.

Rachael Calvo had her best rodeo of the season in sweeping both rounds of barrel racing. The Bassett, Neb., sophomore scored 60 points in each of the long and short go rounds, and she added 60 points to win the average. Two of her teammates added the remaining 90 points for the team.

Sophomore Kelsey Lensegrav, from Interior, S.D., had the second-best barrel-racing time to her teammate in the opening round, but did not place among the top six in the short go and did not place in the average.

The final 40 points came from Cheyenne junior Justene Hirsig, who was fifth in both the breakaway roping short go and the average.

The final fall rodeo, the Shane Dubie Memorial, will be held on the LCCC campus in Cheyenne this weekend.