Cowboys take over second in CRMR standings
The University of Wyoming women’s rodeo team might have company at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), after all.
The UW men’s team -- mired in fifth place in the regional standings just two weeks ago, 495 points out of the final qualifying spot for the college finals -- continued its late-season surge last weekend at the Northeastern Junior College (NJC) rodeo and took over sole possession of second place in the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR).
Led by Jason Hubbard, an agriculture junior from Wheatland who won the tie-down roping title, the Cowboys scored 435 points to distance themselves from Lamar Community College (LCC), NJC and Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) in the tightly-bunched regional standings.
Heading into the final rodeo of the season, the 59th Laramie River Rendezvous, which begins Friday at the Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Teaching Arena near Laramie, UW holds a 185-point lead in the chase for second place. Only the top two teams in each of the 11 regions of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) qualify for the CNFR in June at the Casper Events Center.
Central Wyoming College, which scored 673.33 points to win the NJC rodeo, has already clinched the CRMR men’s team championship.
Hubbard accounted for 155 of the Cowboys’ points at NJC, tying for third place in the long go and winning the short go in tie-down roping, to solidify his second-place spot in the CRMR standings. Teammate Jake Pratt, a secondary education sophomore from Ellensburg, Wash., holds a 95-point lead over Hubbard atop the standings.
UW also received strong showings from Neil DeZort, a civil engineering sophomore from Kalispell, Mont., who placed second in bareback riding, and John Franzen, an agricultural communications junior from Riverton (originally from Wright) who finished third in tie-down roping.
The UW women have been assured of a spot at the CNFR for months after building an insurmountable advantage in the regional standings during the fall portion of the season.
The Cowgirls padded their lead at the NJC rodeo, scoring 685 points to win their seventh team title in eight events this season. UW was coming off its worst performance of the season, a 375-point, second-place showing at Ropin’ and Riggin’ Days in Casper.
The terrific trio of Nikki Steffes, Ta Naye Carroll and Sarah Mulholland accounted for all of the Cowgirls’ points at NJC.
Steffes, a molecular biology junior from Vale, S.D., and the defending national all-around champion, won the barrel racing competition, placed second in goat tying and ended up fifth in breakaway roping. She claimed the women’s all-around title with 325 points.
Carroll, a kinesiology junior from La Junta, Colo., finished third in goat tying and barrel racing to secure second place in the all-around with 190 points.
Mulholland, a nursing junior from Richland Center, Wis., led the Cowgirls’ 1-2-3 finish in goat tying. She won the short go and placed second in the long go.
The UW men’s team -- mired in fifth place in the regional standings just two weeks ago, 495 points out of the final qualifying spot for the college finals -- continued its late-season surge last weekend at the Northeastern Junior College (NJC) rodeo and took over sole possession of second place in the Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR).
Led by Jason Hubbard, an agriculture junior from Wheatland who won the tie-down roping title, the Cowboys scored 435 points to distance themselves from Lamar Community College (LCC), NJC and Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) in the tightly-bunched regional standings.
Heading into the final rodeo of the season, the 59th Laramie River Rendezvous, which begins Friday at the Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Teaching Arena near Laramie, UW holds a 185-point lead in the chase for second place. Only the top two teams in each of the 11 regions of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) qualify for the CNFR in June at the Casper Events Center.
Central Wyoming College, which scored 673.33 points to win the NJC rodeo, has already clinched the CRMR men’s team championship.
Hubbard accounted for 155 of the Cowboys’ points at NJC, tying for third place in the long go and winning the short go in tie-down roping, to solidify his second-place spot in the CRMR standings. Teammate Jake Pratt, a secondary education sophomore from Ellensburg, Wash., holds a 95-point lead over Hubbard atop the standings.
UW also received strong showings from Neil DeZort, a civil engineering sophomore from Kalispell, Mont., who placed second in bareback riding, and John Franzen, an agricultural communications junior from Riverton (originally from Wright) who finished third in tie-down roping.
The UW women have been assured of a spot at the CNFR for months after building an insurmountable advantage in the regional standings during the fall portion of the season.
The Cowgirls padded their lead at the NJC rodeo, scoring 685 points to win their seventh team title in eight events this season. UW was coming off its worst performance of the season, a 375-point, second-place showing at Ropin’ and Riggin’ Days in Casper.
The terrific trio of Nikki Steffes, Ta Naye Carroll and Sarah Mulholland accounted for all of the Cowgirls’ points at NJC.
Steffes, a molecular biology junior from Vale, S.D., and the defending national all-around champion, won the barrel racing competition, placed second in goat tying and ended up fifth in breakaway roping. She claimed the women’s all-around title with 325 points.
Carroll, a kinesiology junior from La Junta, Colo., finished third in goat tying and barrel racing to secure second place in the all-around with 190 points.
Mulholland, a nursing junior from Richland Center, Wis., led the Cowgirls’ 1-2-3 finish in goat tying. She won the short go and placed second in the long go.
Comments