Rodeo | 3/31/2021 1:35:00 PM
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – In spite of two team members losing their lives in a traffic accident on the way to compete, the Oklahoma Panhandle State University cowboys and cowgirls forged ahead at the Garden City Community College Rodeo last weekend. The Aggie men were fifth with 300 points and the women third with 153 points.
Panhandle State cowboys
Cinch Bullock (Fr./Campo, Colo.) and
Hadly McCormick (Sr./Scotts Bluff, Neb.) were killed in the rollover accident on their way to GCCC. A third team member,
Ira Dickinson (Jr./Rock Springs, Wyo.), was injured and is recovering.
In the men's events,
TJ Schmidt won Bull Riding with a 162.0 score. Schmidt split first-second in the first go-round with an 81. He then duplicated his 81 score to win the short go, as well.
Teammate
Kelly Murnion was sixth overall in Bull Riding, after a 75 point ride in the first go-round.
Quint Bell took second in the Steer Wrestling with a composite 15.5 seconds. Bell was eighth in the first go after a time of 9.1 seconds and then garnered second in the short go at 6.4 seconds.
Trevor Meier (7.7 seconds/7th) and
Ean Price (10.4 seconds/10th) both had top-10 finishes in the first go-round of the Steer Wrestling event.
In Bareback Riding,
Jade Taton split second-third in the average. Taton's first-go ride of 72 points put him in fifth. In his short go-round, a 78 was good for second.
Murnion was sixth in the first go of Bareback, as well.
In Saddle Bronc Riding,
Mathew Swaim pulled in a seventh in the average at 138.0. Swaim's first go-round of 67 points was good for 10th. In the short go, he improved to 71 points, splitting 4-6 points.
Two other OPSU cowboys - Taton
Brett Coffman – both had nice rides in the first go of Saddle Bronc Riding, but failed to score in the short go. Taton's 74 was good for third, while Coffman had a 68 and was ninth.
Whitt Crozier put up a nice first go-round clocking of 10.1 in Tie-Down Roping, splitting third-fourth points.
Highlighting the women's day was
Sydney Bottom. Bottom was second in the overall in Barrel Racing and was seventh in Goat Tying. In the Barrels, she took second in the first go (16.68) and was third in the short round (16.32). Her Goat Tying times were 9.4 in the first round (splitting 10-12) and 9.6 in the short go (splitting 5-6).
Teammate
Santana Smith was not far behind, after putting up an 8.8 second effort in the first go-round (splitting 6-8) and a 10.9 in her short go (good for eighth).
Savanna Morgan also got points for the Aggies in Barrel Racing, finishing eighth in the average. A time of 17.01 seconds in the first go got Morgan a fourth, followed by a 21.91 in her short go ride.
In Breakaway Roping,
Kassie Kautzman and
Kate Dickinson had good efforts in the first go, before getting a no time in the short go. Dickinson had a 3.0 seconds, to share 6-9 points, and Kautzman a 3.2 to split 10-12 points.
