By Dylan Whitely, Senior Reporter
It’s time to dust off those boots and cowboy hats.
One of the roughest, toughest sports in college athletics is set to take place in Alva when Northwestern hosts its annual college rodeo.
The Ranger cowboys and cowgirls were on the road last weekend competing in Stillwater at the Oklahoma State University rodeo. So far in the season, they have competed in Colby, Kansas and Durant.
The rodeo will kick off Oct. 27 and run through Oct. 29. Oct. 27 will be college night, where all Northwestern students can attend the rodeo for free.
This rodeo will be the fourth and final rodeo Northwestern competes in for the fall semester. Riders will pick their season back up in the spring with six more rodeos. The athletes will compete with an ultimate end goal in mind: the College National Finals Rodeo that will take place in Casper, Wyoming, in the spring.
Megan Isaacs, a senior from Frankton, Indiana, said she is looking forward to getting out in the arena and competing for Northwestern’s fans and the Alva community.
“I like the rodeo because it brings the whole town of Alva together in a place where they get to watch this amazing sport,” Isaacs said.
Isaacs called this rodeo “the fourth stop on the way to Casper,” which is her top goal for the season.
Isaacs competes in multiple events, like breakaway roping, barrel racing and goat tying. So far this season, Isaacs said she hasn’t gotten off to the start she hoped for, but she is optimistic to turn it around.
“I have gotten off to a rough start, just with drawing bad livestock and stuff like that,” Isaacs said.
Northwestern already has seen some success in the young rodeo season. With a couple wins already under the belts of a few Northwestern athletes, the team is looking to keep up the success in front of a hometown crowd.
So far this season, two of the rodeos have seen a Northwestern cowboy win the steer wrestling, with Cameron Fox winning in Durant and Quade Potter winning in Colby. On top of the wins, Northwestern has seen others have finishes up towards the top of the leaderboard.
Isaacs said she hopes to end this half of the season on a high note and keep the momentum rolling when the spring section of the rodeo season starts.