The Texas Tech Rodeo Team turned in a stellar performance over the weekend at the Odessa College Rodeo, bringing home top honors including Champion All-Around Cowboy, Breakaway Roping Champion, and Reserve Champion Team Roper. The first National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) competition of the spring semester, the event ran from Feb. 27 to Mar. 1.
According to Interim Head Rodeo Coach Swaize Lee, 71 Texas Tech students travelled to the rodeo, competing against a total of 655 contestants representing the NIRA-Southwest Region. “We had seven Tech vests representing Texas Tech University in the short round,” she said. Separately, in the women’s team overall, Texas Tech placed 4th.
Among the outstanding individual performances were:
Jacob Walters | Champion All-Around Cowboy. A senior university studies major from Colorado City, he had 8.9 seconds to split 2nd/3rd/4th in the tie-down roping long round, placed 10th in the average. In the team roping, Walters and his partner Jeryn Ellerd of Howard College were 6.4 seconds in the long round to split 6th, 6.4 seconds in the short round to place 5th, and 12.8 seconds on two to place 5th in the average. “The race to the CNFR is just getting started,” he noted. “I just need to continue to do my job, and at the end of the year, I’ll be there.”
Jessi Everett | Breakaway Roping Champion. A junior communications studies major from Lenorah, she had 2.4 seconds to split 4th in the long round, 2.6 seconds in the short round to split 1st/2nd/3rd, and 5.0 seconds on two to win the average.
Cason Richey – Reserve Champion Team Roper. A freshman animal science major from Sunset, Richey and his partner Cutter Thomison of Cisco College were 5.4 seconds in the long round to place 2nd, 5.8 seconds in the short round to place 4th, and 11.2 seconds on two head to be the reserve champion team ropers. “I’d like to give a special thanks to our men’s coach Kyle Vanderleest for all the work he has put in this semester to get me ready,” Richey said.
In other action, Mackinzee Dermody, a senior management major from Aztec, New Medico, placed 12th overall in breakaway roping, while Morgan Northcutt, a junior agricultural and applied economics major from Slaton, placed 8th overall on goat tying.
Meanwhile, Lila Jardine, a sophomore general business major from Lipan placed 3rd in the barrel racing average, and Rylee Strickland, a sophomore human sciences major from Artesia, New Mexico, placed 5th in the barrel racing average.
Looking ahead, Lee noted that the Texas Tech Rodeo Team has several competitions during the semester including Ranger College - Sweetwater (Mar. 27-29); Western Texas College - Snyder (Apr. 3-5); Howard College - Big Spring (Apr. 10-12); and Tarleton State University - Stephenville (Apr. 24-26). In addition, she said, the Texas Tech team will be hosting “Matador Mania,” a weekend of jackpots hosted by the team Mar. 8-9 at the Texas Tech Equestrian Center.
CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Professor and Chair, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-3517 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu
0305NM25