By SARAH OTTO
Staff Reporter
Dustin Searcy, Northwestern senior rodeo team member, claimed victory in Las Vegas.
Searcy rodeos for Northwestern, as well as in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He entered a lot of rodeos in 2014 on his PRCA permit card. He competed in 35 rodeos last year, finishing well at 20 of them and accumulating $10,000 in earnings throughout the year.
The PRCA holds a Permit Finals rodeo in Las Vegas in December. The top five cowboys in each event that have won the most money on their permit cards get the chance to head to sin city to compete for a championship title.
Although he had quite a few wins under his belt, Searcy fell short in qualifying for the Permit Finals rodeo. He was only one spot out of making the finals in team roping. He said, “I went ahead and entered the rodeo, in case someone would get hurt or something would happen. One of the heelers forgot to enter, so I got to go.” He said that the first of the two rounds did not go well, so his team roping partner and he had to win the second round to win the finals. Searcy and his roping partner ended up doing just that, winning the second round and clinching the victory and title “Team Roping Heeler Permit Holder of the Year.”
“I couldn’t believe we won at first. It all seemed too good to be true since we did bad on our first steer. It all hit me once it was finally over,” Searcy said. “I owe credit to God because I wasn’t even supposed to be there and won, so it made it seem like it was supposed to be,” he continued.
For many rodeo athletes, competing in Las Vegas is something they all have in mind. Searcy said, “Competing in Vegas made you feel like you were put on a stage. It was all first-class facilities, and they gave you a hotel room.”
Searcy is currently sitting 14th in the Central Plains region for team roping in the college standings. He said, “I have to be focused in my last semester of college rodeos. I have been to the college finals and won it, so I know what it takes. I can’t worry about what other people are doing, or the standings. There’s a lot to be done in the spring rodeos.”
Rodeoing will not stop for Searcy once he graduates from Northwestern in May. He said, “I plan to keep rodeoing this summer and next fall, hopefully making 40-45 rodeos.” Searcy also said, “My goals are to win rookie of the year next year and try to make the NFR eventually.”