Four cowboys with northwest Nebraska ties were among the placewinners last weekend at the 69th annual Old West Trails Rodeo in Crawford, helping make the event a special one for area fans.
Crawford native Lyle Welling scored 79 points aboard Gold Wagon on Saturday night to place third in the saddle bronc riding and help energize the hometown fans.
Welling also was second on the saddle broncs at the 2012 rodeo. Welling won $554.60 this year.
Both of the Chadron State College rodeo team coaches were among the bareback riders who went to the pay window. Head coach Dustin Luper placed second by scoring 78 points on Owyhee and his sidekick, Wyatt Clark, was fourth with 73 points on Wrong Number, both on Saturday night.
In addition, a former Chadron State cowboy, Miles Spickelmier, a native of Imperial and now of Sidney, Mont., finished in a three-way tie for second in the steer wrestling. The doggin’ was won by Joe Buffington of Wheatland, Wyo., who flipped his steer in 4.7 seconds. The trio of runners-up finished their runs in 5.0 seconds.
Also placing was Debbie Beede of Mitchell, who finished seventh among the 58 barrel racers.
The competition was tough again this year. There were 229 entries and the placewinners hailed from 10 different states. South Dakota and Colorado each had eight contestants earn paychecks to set the pace.
The placewinners follow:
Bareback riding—1, Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 82 points, $1,052.80; 2, Dustin Luper, Provo, S.D., 78, $789.60; 3, Logan Glendy, Oconto, Neb., 74, $526.40; 4, Wyatt Clark, Wellfleet, Neb., 73, $263.20.
Saddle bronc riding—1, Jake Costello, Newell, S.D., 83 points, $1,109.20; 2, Travis Schroth, Buffalo Gap, S.D., 81, $831.90; 3, Lyle Welling, Crawford, 79, $554.60; 4, Blaze Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo., 78, $277.30.
Tie down roping—1, Brice Ingo, Pueblo, Colo., 9.8 seconds, $1,015.20; 2-3 tie, Marshal Peterson, Ashland, Neb., and J.C. King, Bentonville, Ark., 11.0, $634.50 each; 4, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 11.7, $253.80.
Steer wrestling—1, Joe Buffington, Wheatland, Wyo., 4.7 seconds, $883.60; 2-3-4 tie, Miles Spickelmier, Sidney, Mont., Troy Brandemuehl, Douglas, Wyo., and Kyle Broce, Cheraw, Colo., 5.0, $441.80 each.
Team roping—1, Brett Christensen and Chase Boekhaus, Alva, Okla., 5.8 seconds, $1,035.88 each; 2, J.B. and Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D., Sturgis, S.D., 6.2, $857.28; 3, Nick Becker, Garden City, Kan., and Toby Mentzer, Ensign, Kan., 6.7, $678.68; 4, Jake Day, Upton, Wyo., and TW Wilson, Limon, Colo., 6.9, $500.08; 5, Wade and Kyon Kreutzer, LaVeta, Colo., 7.0, $321.48; 6, Brent McInerney, Alzada, Mont., and Cody Hutchison, Moorcroft, Wyo., 7.2, $178.60.
Bull riding—1, Chris McCombs, Randlett, Okla., 83 points, $977.60; 2, Tyler Hessman, Beaver, Okla., 77, $733.20.
Barrel racing—1, Kelley Schnaufer, Pueblo, Colo., 17.33 seconds, $870.20; 2, Victoria Netzer, Sidney, Mont., 17.45, $756.70; 3, Tally Roepke, Washta, Iowa, 17.66, $643.19; 4, Lana Brown, Eads, Colo., 17.68, $529.69; 5, Ashlie Whithrow, Henryetta, Okla., 17.70, $416.18; 6, Pamela Lei, Camp Crook, S.D., 17.82, $302.68; 7, Debbie Beede, Mitchell, Neb., 17.90, $189.17; 8-9 tie, Katie Lensegrav, Interior, S.D., and Brandee Wardell, Buffalo, S.D., 17.93, $37.83.
(Courtesy: Con Marshall, CSC Sports Information)