University of Wyoming, Gillette College rodeo maintain leads in Central Rocky Mountain Region (2024)

The University of Wyoming and Gillette College rodeo teams did what they needed to do Sunday.

The UW Cowboys did most of their damage in the timed events and the Pronghorns women’s team rode the all-around performance of Haiden Thompson to first-place finishes at Casper College’s Ropin’ and Riggin’ Days Rodeo in The Arena at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds.

Both UW and Gillette College increased their leads in the Central Rocky Mountain Region team standings with just one rodeo remaining in the regular season. UW hosts the Laramie River Rendezvous next weekend.

The Cowboys totaled 770 points to finish well ahead of Gillette College, which scored 510 points. Laramie County Community College was third with 460 points and the host T-Birds were fourth with 450 points.

Thompson, the defending College National Finals Rodeo all-around champion from Yoder, scored all of the Pronghorns’ 385 points. The sophom*ore finished second in the short go-round and won the average in barrel racing with a two-run time of 32.04 seconds, tied for first in the short go and was second in the average in goat tying and paired with Gillette College teammate Tel Sorenson to place fourth in team roping.

Riata Day won the goat tying average with a 14.1 to lead the way for the Cowgirls, who finished with 245 points. Goat tyer Josie Mousel and barrel racer Kenna McNeill also scored points for UW.

Unfortunately for the Cowgirls, they left some points in the arena in breakaway roping. Gracie Hardeman won the average with a two-run time of 5.4 seconds, Jordyn McNamee was second with a 6.2 and Lucy Flynn won the long go-round with a 2.5-second run. The three combined to score 320 points, but none of them were on UW’s point-scoring team this weekend.

David Gallagher turned in the best performance of the day on the men’s side to pace the Cowboys. He won the steer wrestling short go with a 4.7-second run and finished atop the average with a two-run time of 9.8 seconds. Gallagher also tied for the short go win in tie-down roping with a 9.0 and was second in the average with a 19.0. Chadron State College’s Grant Turek won the event with an 18.6.

Brice Patterson, the CRMR defending bareback bronc riding champ, tied for third in bareback and finished second in steer wrestling for the Cowboys. Bulldogger Cam Jensen and team ropers Bodie Mattson (who roped with teammate Troupe Coors) and Rio Nutter (who roped with LCCC’s Reece Wadhams) also earned points for the Cowboys.

Bodie Herring wasn’t on the points team for UW but he and Casper College’s Jade Espenscheid won the team roping average with a two-run time of 12.4 seconds. Espenscheid wasn’t on the T-Birds’ point-scoring team.

“We were down in the standings so we had to go fast,” Espenscheid said of their 5.1-second run in the long go. “We knew we had to blast one so Bodie threw a lot of rope and spun me a fast one. I threw my quickest shot and it worked out. That first round really did it for us because then we were set up to just go out and be solid.”

Gillette College’s Cooper Filipek had an 82.0-point ride — the best mark of the weekend — to win the short go in bareback and claimed the average title with 156.0 points on two head.

Also for the Pronghorns, Thayne Elshere was fourth in saddle bronc, Dawson Kautzman was third in steer wrestling, Tel Sorenson and Coy Johnson scored points in team roping and Ty Moser added to the points total in tie-down.

Other than Espenscheid, the T-Birds did all of their damage in bronc riding. Easton West won the long go in saddle bronc with an 84.0 and the average with a 158.0 and Talon Elshere was third with a 145.0. In bareback, Monte Downare finished second with a 152.0 and Chase Siemens was sixth with a 146.0.

Sheridan College’s Tipton Wilson won the bull riding with a 71.0.

After next weekend’s Laramie River Rendezvous, the top two men’s and women’s teams, as well as the top three individuals in each event, qualify for the season ending College National Finals Rodeo. This year’s CNFR is scheduled for June 9-15 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper.