By CADE KENNEDY, Student Reporter
The Northwestern rodeo team has been on the road for six weekends competing in the Central Plains Region of the College National Finals Rodeo circuit.
On March 12, the rodeo teams made the trip up to Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas for their second rodeo of the season. The men’s team finished in fourth place with 270 team points and the women’s team finished in eighth with 10 team points.
Western Oklahoma State College won on the men’s side and Oklahoma State University won on the women’s side of the rodeo.
Northwestern’s Denton Mars won his first intercollegiate saddle bronc riding championship. Mars got 73 points in the first round, which put him in a tie for third place after the opening round. He got 76 points in the championship round, which gave him 155 total points and the championship win.
After that, the Rangers travelled to Durant, Oklahoma to compete at Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s rodeo on March 18. The men’s team finished in eighth place with 145 team points and the women’s team did not earn any team points.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University won the men’s side of the rodeo. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College won the women’s side of competition.
Riley Westhaver won the steer wrestling title in Durant by getting two runs at 3.9 seconds long. Northwestern’s Bridger Anderson, Ricky “Bo” Yaussi, and Brent Woodward joined Westhaver in the top seven individuals who competed the steer wrestling event.
The team’s next rodeo was held at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas on March 26. The men’s team finished in third place with 350 team points and the women’s team finished in fourth with 115 team points.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University won the men’s side.Oklahoma State University won on the women’s side of the rodeo.
Lindy Munsell won her first college title at Garden City by winning the breakaway roping championship with a total time of 5.7 seconds. Munsell was not the only one to win at Garden City, as Westhaver captured another steer wrestling title with a total time of 10 seconds.
The Rangers then travelled to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma for their rodeo on April 1. The Rangers finished in seventh place with 170 points while the Lady Rangers did not win any points.
Oklahoma Panhandle State University won on the men’s side of the rodeo. Southwestern Oklahoma State University won the women’s side.
Denton Oestmann added to the team’s championship titles as he captured a tie-down roping win in Stillwater with a total time of 18.8 seconds. Steer roping continued to be a strength for the Rangers, as Jace Rutledge and Yaussi finished in the top five.
Over halfway through the season, the team went to Weatherford, Oklahoma on April 8 to compete at Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s rodeo. The men’s team finished in eighth place with 130 team points while the women’s team did not score.
Oklahoma Panhandle State University won the men’s side. Oklahoma State University won the women’s side of the rodeo.
Kade Chace tied for first in the tie-down roping event. He recorded a time of 10.6 in the opening round, then followed with a time of 10.7 seconds in the short round.
The Rangers and Lady Rangers travelled to Hays, Kansas for a rodeo at Fort Hays State University on April 16. The men scored 10 team points finishing in ninth place while the women did not score any points as a team.
Brent Woodward won the steer wrestling event at Fort Hays’ rodeo.
Northwestern’s men’s rodeo team is currently ranked sixth in the region with a total of 1,436.50 points. The women’s team is currently ranked eighth in the region with a total of 196.50 points.
The team has two rodeos left in regional play.