UW Cowboys Back to Rodeo Winning Ways; Cowgirls Second Again

It was back to winning for the University of Wyoming men’s rodeo team, while the Cowgirls were the runners-up for the third consecutive weekend.

The Cowboys received production from all six points team members to roll to the Sheridan College rodeo team title. The UW men amassed 770 points to easily outdistance both Laramie County Community College (LCCC) and Casper College, which scored 530 and 505 points, respectively.

With the latest Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) team title, the Cowboys opened up a sizeable lead as they seek their fifth straight regional title. With just two CRMR rodeos left in the fall season, the Cowboys have 2,005 points through three regional competitions, widening their lead over Casper College by 510 points. LCCC is in third place with 1,205 points.

“The weather was a factor at Sheridan, but our teams found a way to set that aside and be their best,” UW Coach Beau Clark says. “I was really impressed with their ability to perform regardless of the circumstances.”

For the Cowboys at Sheridan:

-- Bodie Mattson, from Sturgis, S.D., and partner Carson Johnson, of Casper College, won the team roping competition for the second time in three weeks, posting the short and long go rounds’ top times to win the average.

-- Cam Jensen, of Hyannis, Neb., was one of two UW Cowboys to place in a pair of events. He posted the second-best time in the tie down roping’s short go to finish as the runner-up in the average. He then added additional points, finishing fifth in team roping with heeler Tanner Whetham, of Chadron State College.

-- The other double-event place finisher was Brice Patterson, from Bozeman, Mont., who was sixth in steer wrestling and fourth in bareback riding.

-- Rio Nutter, from Rapid City, S.D., finished sixth in tie down roping and combined with heeler Reece Wadhams, of LCCC, to finish fourth in team roping.

-- Kemmerer’s Donny Proffit hung on to second place in the region’s bareback riding competition, finishing as the weekend runner-up.

-- And, the final team points came from Saratoga’s Kaden Berger, who was fifth in the steer wrestling average.

The UW women held steady once again with three of the four team members -- especially Sage Kohr, from Gillette -- compiling a season-best 395 points for second at the weekend rodeo. Gillette College won for the second straight rodeo -- just 10 points ahead of the Cowgirls. Third went to the LCCC women with 360 points.

The Pronghorns increased their regional lead slightly over the Cowgirls with 1,239 overall points compared to 938.33 for the UW women. A distant third is LCCC with 595 points.

Individually at Sheridan:

-- Kohr paced the Cowgirls, scoring 310 points when she won a pair of events to win the all-around that goes to an individual who places in more than one event at each rodeo. She opened with the second-best time in the breakaway roping’s long go and improved that in the short go to take the overall average. She again came through to post the barrel racing’s top short go time, improving upon her fifth-place time in the opening round to take the overall average.

-- Teammate Kenna McNeill, from Hobbs, N.M., added sixth-place points in goat tying and had the second fastest opening round time in barrel racing but did not place in the average.

-- The final points came from Kelsey Lensegrav, of Interior, S.D., who split sixth place in the goat tying average.

Several UW Cowboys and Cowgirls -- not selected for either points team last weekend -- also placed at Sheridan. For the men, Wheatland’s Drake Amundson was fifth in bareback riding average and teammate Colton Farrow, of Greybull was sixth; and Jacob Wang, of Baker, Mont., won the steer wrestling event.

For the UW women, Faith Hoffman, of Kiowa, Colo., was third in goat tying, and Gillette’s Emme Norsworthy split second in barrel racing.

With several new competitors on both points teams, Clark says the goal is still to build toward the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper next summer.

“We just keep growing each week, and it’s just the beginning,” he says. “I’m really optimistic where we can be in June.”

The penultimate CRMR rodeo is this weekend at Lamar Community College in Lamar, Colo. The final fall competition is the following weekend at LCCC in Cheyenne.