Nine rodeo team members made it to the final performance Sunday in Riverton. This was the first weekend of the Central Rocky Mountain Region collegiate rodeo season.
Freshman, Dalton Burgener took the lead for steer wrestling. Burgener had a time of 6.7 seconds in the long go-round and 6.6 seconds in the short go-round.
Teammate, Coltin Hill, had a good run in the long go-round with a time of 5.3 seconds and had the fastest time in the short go-round with 4.0 seconds flat but broke the barrier adding ten seconds to his time; placing him fourth overall.
Also in the steer wrestling was Brady Thurston, freshman who came in at third place. Thurston had a time of 6.7 seconds in the long go-round and 8.3 seconds in the short go-round.
Sophomore, Danny Huxtable also placed in the top ten for steer wrestling. Huxtable received a time of 5.5 seconds in the long go-round and a no time in the short go-round; putting him in eighth place.
In the saddle bronc riding, three team members placed in the top ten. Sophomore, Shawn Butner placed second overall. He received a score of 71 in the long go-round and a 58 in the short go-round; the only team member to receive a score in the short go-round. Tanner Butner, freshman came in at fifth place with a score of 73 in the long go-round and Colton Miller, sophomore placed sixth with a score of 71 in the long go-round.
“The men’s team is sitting fifth and we have a good chance of working our way up,” said Drew Schrock rodeo coach. “We had some unfortunate happenings with Coltin Hill breaking the barrier in the short go-round and Tanner Butner getting bucked off in 7.8 seconds in the short go-round which he had a chance of getting a solid 85 points in that ride; if those things wouldn’t have happened the team would have had those extra points but I was proud of them.”
For the women’s team Tory Green, sophomore placed ninth in the barrel racing. In the long go-round, Green received a time of 18.15 seconds and 18.39 seconds in the short go-round.
Kassie Kautzman, freshman placed third in the breakaway roping. Kautzman received a time of 3.1 seconds in both the long and short go-round.
“I’m impressed with the freshman and how well they placed; the whole team did well. This is the best performance from the team that I’ve seen since I’ve been a coach and I’m looking forward to watching them this season,” Schrock said.
The men’s team is in fifth place with 320 points. Gillette College is sitting first place with 475 points, followed by Chadron State College.
The women’s team is in seventh place with 105 points. Gillette College is also in first place for the women’s team with 385 points followed by the University of Wyoming.
“I’m super proud of the way the team performed this weekend inside and outside of the arena,” Schrock said. “We still have a lot more rodeos to help get our points up and the team is ready for practice and they are ready for the next rodeo.”
Chadron State College will host the second rodeo for the region in Chadron, Neb., Sept. 18-20.
