Lacey Roberts
Rodeo individuals came away strong from the Northeastern Junior College Rodeo in Sterling, Colo., Coach Dustin Luper said.
The men’s team tied for ninth of ten teams, but more individuals placed than usual.
Whitten Hoover, sophomore of Ainsworth, won men’s all-around for the first time in his college career after placing in both bareback broncs and bull riding.
Laramie Community College’s Miles Spickelmier, sophomore of Imperial, trailed 10 points behind Hoover’s 130.
Hoover tied for fourth in bareback average with the University of Wyoming’s Thomas Baker, of Shoshoni, Wyo., with scores of 64 points for a sixth place in the long go, and 70 points for third place in the short go. He is sitting in second overall for bareback.
Hoover also tried his hand at bull riding, and placed third in the short round with a score of 75 points, but was bucked off in the finals. He placed fourth average.
Ty Werdel, sophomore of Chadron, and Jeddidiah Wilson, junior of Sugar City, Colo., battled it out in the bareback broncs.
Werdel inched ahead of Wilson with a 65 point ride, landing him in fourth for the short go. Wilson’s score of 64 points in the short go landed him in fifth place. Both were disqualified in the finals, Werdel for failing to mark out his bronc, and Wilson for not making 8 seconds.
Werdel finished sixth average and Wilson seventh.
Erik Eddington, junior of Torrington, Wyo., and Eastern Wyoming College’s Jake Kraupie, of Bridgeport, tied for eighth in team roping with Kody Schwager, junior of Bartlett, and Clinton Lambrecht, freshman of Wood River.
The women’s team placed sixth with help from Lacey Roberts, graduating senior of New Underwood, S.D., and Kaylee Gallino, sophomore of Wasta, S.D.
Roberts placed first overall in goat tying with seventh in the long go with a time of 8.8 seconds and second in the short with an 8.5 second run. This was the first time she took a rodeo, Luper said. “I was really proud of her to get that accomplished,” he said.
Gallino placed seventh in the long and short rounds and average in breakaway roping this weekend. Her times were 17.27 and 17.34 seconds in the long and short rounds, respectively.
The University of Wyoming Rodeo this weekend is the last before the College National Finals Rodeo June 13 – 19 in Casper, Wyo.
Luper said Kelsey Scott, sophomore of Douglas, Wyo., Hoover, Wilson and Gallino all have a shot of making it to finals.
