Cowgirls dominate fall rodeo scene

By UW Media Relations

CHEYENNE -- The University of Wyoming Cowgirls made a definite statement this fall after falling short of their goal of repeating as College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) champions.

The Cowgirls swept all five Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) events after dominating last weekend's Shawn Dubie Memorial rodeo at Laramie County Community College (LCCC).

With the latest victory, the Cowgirls retook the overall national lead for the second time in three weeks. The women scored 3,045 points after concluding their fall season, while last week's national leader, Cal Poly State-San Luis Obispo, has 2,483.5 with one event remaining.

The Cowgirls are running away with the CRMR title for the third straight season, scoring 3,045 points, compared to runner-up Gillette College's 1,390.

With basically the same team intact with seniors TaNaye Carroll, Sarah Mulholland and Nikki Steffes, the UW women are determined to put last summer's CNFR short go meltdown behind them. At the 2008 college finals, UW sought to repeat as CNFR champions, but their lackluster effort on the final night resulted in a fourth-place finish.

It's a new season and the team has a determined attitude, say team members.

"It's been a great year. I think that the three of us were pretty disappointed with the way that the college finals went. It seemed that the short round just didn't work for anybody. It's one of those things where we didn't have the luck," Steffes, a molecular biology senior from Vale, S.D., said after her second-place barrel racing performance Sunday. "I definitely think we're one of the best teams in the nation right now. Hopefully we can all stay healthy and we'll be back. Things have gone better for us this fall than last year."

During Sunday's short go, the Cowgirls went 1-2-4 in the goat tying event to score a whopping 385 points. Mulholland, nursing, Richland Center, Wis., won the event by taking the first round and placing second in the short go. Carroll, kinesiology, La Junta, Colo., the overall regional leader, took second and Steffes added fourth place points in the average.

All three women hold the top three positions in goat tying, with Carroll first, Mulholland next and Steffes, who has placed second in the event the past two seasons at the CNFR, third.

Steffes, who won the LCCC all-around title, scored another 140 points by finishing second in barrel racing, the event in which she is the runner-up in the overall regional standings.
The final points came from Carroll in team roping. She reached her first short go in the event, partnering with Northeastern Junior College's Brice Simmons to place third.

Carroll says the tough competition among teammates makes each one better.

"When you know that some of the toughest competition at each rodeo is the girls that you practice with each day, it really improves your skills and makes you do better," Carroll said. "We're halfway through our season and next spring could be a totally different ball game for all the schools in all the regions. I think we're tough, but we'll see how it plays out in the end."

Mulholland says the three seniors are making sure each rodeo counts as they prepare for the spring season and a chance to qualify for next June's CNFR.

"We all hoped to have an even better year because this is our senior year; it's our last year so we have to make the best of it. We never get to do it again," Mulholland said outside the LCCC arena. "These past four years have gone by extremely fast, the fastest four years of my life. I thought I was just a freshman a year ago. It's gone by too fast."

The UW men relinquished their overall CRMR lead to perennial champion CWC after faltering to a fourth-place finish in Cheyenne Sunday. The Rustlers won the LCCC rodeo with 750 points, while the Cowboys were 450 points back.

CWC has the overall regional lead going into the spring season with 2,325 points, while the UW men are second with 2,085.

Troy Brandemuehl, wildlife biology senior, Gordon, Neb., picked up most of the Cowboys' points by scoring in two events. He won the steer wrestling short go and wound up fourth in the average. He finished in the same position in tie down roping.

Bucky Dickson, kinesiology sophomore from Sequim, Wash., took third in bareback riding and Chad Nelson, agricultural business senior from Buffalo, S.D., added team roping points when he partnered with Gillette College's Beau Miller.

Dickson, who suffered a broken jaw when he was kicked in the face last season, is third overall in bareback riding.

"I feel like I should be sitting No. 1. I just haven't had the draws this fall, but I'm biding my time. I'm just waiting around; the draws make everything and I know I can do better than I'm showing right now," he said after his Sunday ride. "The injury is behind me. Actually, three days after I got my jaw unwired I went to three rodeos and they all turned out good -- I placed in all three. It just happens that you break bones in rodeo and you get used to it."

The spring season begins March 27-29 at Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington.

Listed are the top six individuals and team points from the LCCC rodeo.
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Women's team scores -- University of Wyoming (UW), 605; Central Wyoming College (CWC), 210; Gillette College (GC) and Casper College (CC), 180; Lamar Community College (LCC), 60; Colorado State University (CSU), 35; Eastern Wyoming College (EWC), 20; Chadron State College (CSC), 10.
Men's team scores -- CWC, 750; Northeastern Junior College (NJC), 570; CC, 370; UW, 300; GC, 256.66; LCC, 210; CSC, 190; Otero Community College (OCC), 160; Laramie County Community College (LCCC), 40; EWC, 10.
Barrel racing -- Michelle Robinson, GC, 35.05; Nikki Steffes, UW, 35.42; Ilene Hilman, UW, 35.62; Sydney Hettinger, UW, 35.67; Annie Novotny, SC, 35.68; Molly Johnson, NJC, 35.89.
Breakaway roping -- Megan Schrock, CC, 4.7; Jessica Picchietti, CWC, 5.9; Sam Gagnon, CWC, 6; Chelsey Willhoite, LCC, 6.3; Misty McPherson, GC, 7.7.
Goat tying -- Sarah Mulholland, UW, 16.1; Laura Waldo, CWC, 16.4; TaNaye Carroll, UW, 16.7; Nikki Steffes, UW, 16.9; Echo Johnston, GC, 17.4; Chyann Howard, UW, and Jamie Kirk, CC, both 18.6.
Saddle bronc riding -- Cole Eishere, GC, 149; Chancy Miller, GC, 145; J.W. Moore, CC, 132; Ty Hammaker, CWC, 129.
Bareback riding -- Ty Breuer, CWC, 149; Bryan Jones, CWC, 148; Troy Bechen, CC, 143; Bucky Dickson, UW, 138; Whitten Hoover, CSC, 133.
Bull riding -- Cameron Weddle, NJC, 152; Ty Hammaker, CWC, 145; Kody Pierce, UW, 138.
Steer wrestling -- Nathan Ramsey, OCC, 10; John Franzen, UW, 11.7; Troy Brandemuehl, UW, 11.8; Cameron Weddle, NJC, 15.9; O.J. Huxtable, CC, 17.1.
Tie down roping -- Cole Dorenkamp, LCC, 20.4; Bridger Chytka, CSC, 20.8; Mitch McAdow, NJC, 21; Troy Brandemuehl, UW, 21.3; Clay Forgey, LCC, 24; Will Smith, UW, 30.5.
Team roping -- Cody Waldrip/Hadley Berger, UW, 17.4; Austin Laramore, Regis University/Taylor Thompson, NJC, 18.9; TaNaye Carroll, UW/Brice Simmons, NJC, 19.7; Trice Watts/J.J. Watts, NJC, 19.8; Chase Bierma/Riley Warren, CWC, 20.8; Tyrel Larson/Chris Robinett, CC, 31.