CSC cowboys rope the championship at Gillette College

The Chadron State College men’s rodeo team took the championship title this weekend at the Gillette College rodeo. Three cowboys in the timed events and two cowboys in the bareback riding led the way.

The cowboys scored 680 points in Gillette, 295 more than Casper College, which bumped them to second place in the Central Rocky Mountain Regional rankings with a total of 2,250 points. The Chadron State cowboys are now just 65 points behind Gillette, the team currently leading the standings.

The rodeo was the first of the spring season in the Central Rocky Mountain Region.

Point scorers for CSC included Lane Day, senior of Bartlett, who won tie-down roping; Prestyn Novak, freshman of Newell, South Dakota, who earned second in tie-down roping; and Taz Olson, senior of Prairie City, South Dakota, who won steer wrestling.

Day roped and tied his first go-round calf in 11.0 seconds to earn third place, and went 11.4 in the finals on Sunday to earn second. Both times earned him first place in the average.

“The rodeo season is a war of attrition. It’s not the guy who’s on top each week that matters it’s the guy who is on top when the season ends who is the champion,” Day said. “Our coach, Shawn (Patras), really stresses the importance of each and every run. That’s the mindset our team is really trying to live by. The guy who is the most consistent in rodeo is generally the most successful.”

Novak tied for seventh place in the first go-round with a run of 11.8, but came back with a second run of 11.2 to win the go-round and finish second in the average.

Olson placed second in the first go-round with a time of 6.1 and wrestled his second steer in 5.9 to win the final go-round and the average.

“I plan on just keeping the ball rolling and trying to be consistent to finish out the rest of the year,” Olson said. “My expectations are to go out and do the best of my ability to make the short-go again.”

Wyatt Clark, graduate student of Wellfleet, was runner-up in the first go-round of bareback with a score of 75 points and tied for third place in finals with a score of 68 points.

Nate McFadden, senior of Elsmere, placed third in both go-rounds with scores of 69 and 68 points, and he finished third in the average.

“The next rodeo I want to improve on my third place and get a win in Torrington, and just keep getting as many points as possible for my team,” Nate McFadden said. “For the rest of the season I’m going to keep a positive attitude and keep having fun!”

Jeff Cover, junior of Ashby, added 48 to the team score by placing sixth in the saddle bronc riding.

There were three Chadron State cowgirls that finished fifth at Gillette.

Amy Deichert, senior of Spearfish, South Dakota, finished fifth in barrel racing after winning the first go-round in 14.26, and running 14.56 in her second go-round. Deichert also finished seventh in goat tying in 8.2 and 8.6.

Brandi Cwach, freshman of Geddes, South Dakota, finished fifth in goat tying in 8.1 and 8.5 and Kodi McFadden, junior of Elsmere, tied for fifth in breakaway roping in 3.3 and 3.4. Cwach also was among the 10 finalists in the barrel race.

“My expectations are always high, a big aspect of the mental game is always having confidence going into the rodeo,” Day said. “I’m especially working on staying healthy this week preparing for Torrington. I also have big expectations for our team, this is the best team I have ever been apart of here in Chadron. Every single guy I feel has bought into our coaches philosophies for success. We have been putting in more hours in the arena, and the weight room this offseason compared to past seasons, and by winning the team title this past weekend I feel it shows we are reaping the benefits of our labors.”

“This week I am just going to keep perfecting my riding and working on the basics and staying in the gym everyday,” Nate McFadden said.

Eastern Wyoming College will host this weekend’s rodeo in Torrington.