09/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/09/2024 12:17
With five of their six-man team points members scoring, the University of Wyoming Cowboys rolled to an opening Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) win, while the Cowgirls were second at the Chadron State College (CSC) rodeo.
The Cowboys won two individual events and compiled 620 points to easily outdistance runner-up Casper College as the Pokes seek their seventh consecutive CRMR team title during the 2024-25 season. The T-Birds collected 380 points to edge third-place Gillette College by 60 points.
The Pronghorns dominated the women's division with 608.3 points. The UW Cowgirls were the runners-up, thanks to an individual event winner and a second-place finish in another to score 393.3 points. Colorado State University placed third with 190 points.
"We are very proud of our student-athletes. They were focused and showed up to perform at a high level," UW Coach Seth Glause says about his teams' opening weekend performances. "We have a week off to reset and get ready for the Central Wyoming College rodeo in Riverton. I look forward to our athletes continuing to put out a great effort through the year."
Greybull's Colton Farrow won his first regional bareback riding title, splitting the first and short go rounds, which boosted him to take the average. Baker, Mont., teammate Jacob Wang bounced back to form from two seasons ago to win the steer wrestling competition. He later added points in another event, placing sixth in team roping with heeler partner Jaxson Mirabal, from Magdalena, N.M. Wang was the rodeo's all-around runner-up.
Other scoring from the six-man points team for UW:
-- David Gallagher, from Brighton, Colo., was second to teammate Wang in steer wrestling.
-- In his first appearance wearing the brown and gold vest, Dixon Tattrie, of Youngstown, Alberta, Canada, split the runner-up position in saddle bronc riding.
-- Newcomer Rhett Witt, from Valentine, Neb., added points in the steer wrestling competition.
Other UW Cowboys also placed during the weekend competition, but they were not selected for the six-man points team.
Jackson's Emmit Ross scored a bull riding trifecta, winning both rounds and the average, while UW teammate Stefan Tonita, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, was the runner-up. Mirabal was fifth in steer wrestling on two head, and Troupe Coors, of Loveland, Colo., was fifth with Gillette College's Haiden Thompson in team roping.
Josie Mousel, of Egan, S.D., led the way for the Cowgirls, winning the women's goat tying competition on the strength of placing first in the short go round. She was involved in a three-way split for first place in the competition's opening round.
Wheatland's Rayne Grant opened her UW career with a second-place finish in barrel racing. The final team points came from Landry Haugen, of Sturgis, S.D., who split first place in the opening round of goat tying but did not place in the average. She was in a three-way split for sixth place in the breakaway roping average.
Four Cowgirls, not selected for the weekend's first rodeo four-woman points team for UW, placed during the CSC rodeo. Layni Stevens, from St. Lawrence, S.D., was second to Mousel in goat tying. RaeLee Caldwell, of Gillette, was fifth in the goat tying average, followed by teammate Molly Rotenberger, of Ludlow, S.D., in sixth. Wilson's Hailey Hardeman placed fifth in breakaway roping.
CRMR teams have the weekend off and will return Sept. 20-22 for the Central Wyoming College rodeo in Riverton.