Success for OPSU Rodeo in Garden City

Panhandle State's cowboys and cowgirls continued their momentum through the season at Garden City Community College rodeo this past weekend. Freshman, Tom Simpson, won the Men's All-Around which led the men's team to win at Garden City while the women's team placed third.

Simpson gained the All-Around title by placing in multiple events through the weekend. He was the only Aggie in the Steer Wrestling placing sixth with an 8.5-second run. Luck of the draw wasn't in his favor in the short go with a no-time placing ninth in the average.

In the Tie-Down Roping, the Aggies made a splash winning rounds and average amongst Panhandle State. Simpson won the long round with an 8.8-second run. He was accompanied by seniors, Wyatt Murray, Trevor Meier, and Evan Meashaw placing fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively. Murray went into the short go with confidence making a 10.2-second run to win the round and the average. Simpson was able to keep moving through placing fourth in both the short go and average. Meier and Meashaw had tough luck resulting in no times dropping them to seventh and eighth in the average.

While the timed-event cowboys were making great runs, the rough stock riders were taking care of business at the bucking chutes. Upperclassmen led the way in the Saddle Bronc Riding. Senior, Ira Dickinson, was on top of his game marking a 74-point ride in the long round-to-place second. Colt Cunningham and Ean Price, seniors, split third through fifth with a 72-point ride. Junior, Brett Coffman, split sixth and seventh to make it back to Sunday's short go. Dickinson stayed consistent with a 75-point ride splitting third and fourth which placed him third in the average overall. Cunningham held on until the buzzer which got him seventh place in the go and average. No scores in the short go for Price and Coffman left them eighth and ninth overall.

TJ Schmidt and Kelly Murnion, seniors, stayed at the top in the Bull Riding. Schmidt won the long go with an 81-point ride with Murnion placing second marking a 78-point ride. Lalo Aguilar, a sophomore, was right there with them placing third in the long round. Unfortunately, a tough pen of bulls left the three with no scores in the short go but all were able to grab average spots. Schmidt, Murnion, and Aguilar placed third, fourth, and fifth respectively overall.

For the women's team, the juniors, McKenna Brennan and Sydney Bottom, led the way in the Goat Tying. Bottom made a fast run of 7.2-second run placing fourth in the long round. Brennan coming off a hot streak from the last rodeo kept her mind on the goal by splitting fifth and sixth. They were joined in the top ten that made it back to Sunday's round by senior, Kelsey Hallin, who placed tenth. Brennan added a little speed in the short go making a 6.8-second run placing second in the round and average. Bottom held steady with a 7.6-second run placing fourth in the round and splitting third and fourth in the average. Hallin had some bad luck on Sunday which put her eighth in the round and average.

In the Breakaway Roping, three Lady Aggies showed their talent in a tight range of times on a fresh set of calves. Alex Hamilton, a senior, split fifth and sixth with a 2.4-second run while Sydney Frey, a senior, was just a tenth behind her splitting seventh and eighth. Sophomore, Kohley Longmeyer, had a 2.6-second run to grab her spot into Sunday's run splitting tenth and eleventh. These Aggies came up empty-handed all having no times in the short go. Despite the bad luck, Hamilton finish in the average splitting eighth and ninth while Frey and Longmeyer finished tenth and eleventh respectively.