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Burgener sits first in the region; Rustlers gear up for home rodeo

Burgener sits first in the region; Rustlers gear up for home rodeo

CWC rodeo cowboy Dalton Burgener speeds up his horse to wrestle a steer

Sophomore Dalton Burgener took over the number one spot in steer wrestling in the NIRA Central Rocky Mountain Region leader board. Although he didn’t bring the buckle home from this past weekend in Lamar, Colorado his points from all of the recent rodeos was enough to bump him into the lead.

“He’s been an outstanding bulldogger this season,” said Drew Schrock, rodeo coach. “He’s a well-rounded student athlete and has worked to place in the regions leader board. We will continue to see him in the winning circle.”

Burgener placed third in the steer wrestling at the Lamar Community College with 7.4 seconds in the long go-round and improved his time in the final round with 5.6 seconds. Teammate Danny Huxtable also came out in the top ten for the steer wrestling. In the long go-round he had a time of 5.9 seconds but drew a tough steer in the short go-round and received a final time of 11.6 seconds.

Brady Thurston, who has been injured this fall season, placed in the top ten in two different events at the Lamar rodeo. He placed fourth in the saddle bronc riding and is now sitting in third place for the region. Thurston received a score of 52 in the long go-round and had a better ride the following day in the short go-round with a 69 point ride.

Thurston also fared well in the tie down roping, finishing in seventh overall. In the long go-round he had a time of 11.3 seconds and had a much tougher time in the short go-round with 21.6 seconds. He broke the barrier in the final round resulting in a 10 second penalty.

For someone to have a shoulder injury as bad as Brady has and to be able to continue to compete and do well is truly amazing. His mental game has been strong to keep him in the competition. He’s a tough cowboy and I expect to see him to continue to do well. ”

Thurston will finish the season competing and in the off season he will be recovering from his injury to be able to compete in the spring.

Sophomore Kassie Kautzman had a good round in the long go-round in the breakaway roping with a time of 3.4 seconds. She received a no time in the short go-round but finished the rodeo standing in 11th place.

“We expect to see good things to come for the women’s team,” Schrock said. “I look for her to continue to make the final rounds and hopefully other teammates will follow in her lead. Winning helps winning and Kassie brings a positive attitude to the team.

The Rustler Roundup Rodeo is this weekend at the Fremont County Fairgrounds, Oct. 7-9.

“We like to perform well in front of the home crowd,” Schrock said. “We will take a couple days off to prepare and be rested for the weekend. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the team and expect they will do well on their home grounds.”