The Chadron State rodeo team continued its strong start to the spring season in the Central Rocky Mountain Region over the weekend at the Colorado State University rodeo in Fort Collins, coming home with 3 champions, 2 other placers, and 3 others who reached the finals or short-go round.

Devan Frey of Hyannis won in breakaway roping, Katie Loughran of Broken Bow was 1st in barrel racing and Russell Hipke of Stuart was the champion steer wrestler while Derek Powers of Arthur was 5th in tie down roping and the team roping duo of Gaby Beragnolli of Sierra Valley, Calif., and Jace Blackwell of Rapid City was 6th.

Frey was 3rd in the first go-round and 1st in the finals of breakaway roping…posting a time of 3.1 seconds in both…and took the event by a relatively wide 1.6 second margin. She picked up 160 points in the season standings while no other competitor earned more than 100.

Loughran, who missed the fall schedule recovering from shoulder surgery, had the fastest time in both rounds of the barrels at 14.59 and 14.31 seconds won both go-rounds. She earned 170 points, 35 more than the runner-up.

It was a big short go-round that brought Hipke his second straight steer wrestling title at Colorado State. He was all the way back in a tie for 8th after the first round, but improved his time 1.3 seconds to claim the finals and win the event by 7-10ths of a second. His total time of 10.3 seconds was the same as his time last year.

Powers claimed his 5th in tie down roping with times of 10.2 and 12.4 seconds, but Beragnolli and Blackwell got their 6th despite having no time in the finals because the teams behind them also took a no time in the finals.

Amy Deichert finished 2 spots out of the money and season points in barrel racing, while CSC’s other 2 finalists had no scores in the finals…tie down roper Mitch McAdow, who’d been 1st in the opening round, and  Shelby Winchell in goat tying, whose goat in the finals came untied.

The 5 rodeo spring season in the Central Rocky Mountain Region continues this weekend at Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington.