Rodeo teams finish fall season in Cheyenne

The CSC rodeo team finished out its fall season last weekend at the Laramie County Community College rodeo in Cheyenne.
Tying for ninth place with 60 overall team points, the CSC cowboys placed several men in the top 10 for their respective events.
Sophomore Dakota Rice, of Boise, Idaho, won the bull riding with a score of 79 points in the first go-round. After all three contestants were unable to make an eight-second ride during the finals, Rice’s score was the highest placing him in the top spot.
“I drew a really good bull,” Rice said. “He was relaxed in the chute which helped me stay relaxed. I got a little out of position at the beginning of the ride, but I just kept hustling to get back where I needed to be.”
Landing in the team roping finals was senior Sam Bolden, of Gordon, and his partner Casey Sellers, of Gillette College. The duo locked up third place with times of 7.9 and 7.5 seconds.
“We made solid runs in the long round and the short round,” Bolden said. “I’m very fortunate to have Casey Sellers in front me. He ropes great.”
Also earning team points was Lane Day, graduate student of Bartlett, who snagged a spot in the top six with his fifth place win in steer wrestling with times of 6.3 and 4.9.
Putting up an impressive run in the first go-round of tie down roping was Lathan Lauing, sophomore of Oral, South Dakota. Lauing walked away with a fifth place win after missing his calf in the finals.
“I still feel good about my first calf run, it was my best run of the season,” Lauing said. “My second run didn’t go as planned but that’s how the sport goes. I still use every opportunity as a learning experience.”
For the second week in a row, Jordan Tierney, senior of Oral, South Dakota, was the only cowgirl to represent CSC in the finals. Mirroring Lauing’s luck, Tierney led in the opening round of goat tying, but came up short in her finals appearance. With her times of 7.2 and 8.7 she came in sixth overall.
Although it was not the team’s best rodeo of the season, confidence remains high among both teams that with hard work and a productive winter, the contestants will be ready to defend their titles in the spring.
“I’m excited for the spring season,” senior team member Elsie Fortune, of Interior, South Dakota, said. “The women’s and men’s teams both have great chances at making the college finals as a team. We have lots of great talent on both ends of the arena!”
Fortune is third overall in breakaway roping with 215 points
The CSC cowboys are second in the team standings with 1,628.33 points. The cowgirls are fifth on the women’s side with 586.66 points, just 163 points away from third place.