Chadron State College has two women in Saturday’s 12-contest final or short go-round in goat-tying at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper.
Junior Shelby Winchell, who placed 3rd in the event last year while at Eastern Wyoming College, matched the fastest time of this year’s CNFR at 6.2 seconds Friday night in her 3rd-go round to sits tied for 2nd with a total time of 19.1.
One spot behind Winchell is senior teammate Amy Tierney at 19.5. She had her 3rd go-round Thursday night.
Also making the finals in goat-tying from this area, although not from the same college rodeo region, was Hallie Fulton of Black Hills State, who is tied for 9th with a total time of 20.9.
The top 5 spots in goat-tying going into the short go-round are all from the Central Rocky Mountain Region. Shaylee Hance of Central Wyoming is 5th, Hayden Segelke of Northeaster (Colo) Junior College is 2nd, and leading the way is Jordan Thurston-Miller of Gillette College.
Chadron State and the Panhandle can make a claim on Thurston-Miller. Her parents…John Thurston and Tiffany Miller Thurston…are CSC graduates…her maternal grandmother…Beverly Grant Miller…is a Chadron High and CSC graduate…and her paternal grandparents are Bill and Twyla Thurston of Hyannis.
Eastern Wyoming College has two entries that reached Saturday’s competition. Team ropers Derek Weinreis and Levi O’Keeffe are 3rd, half a second behind the two teams tied for 1st, while Troy Wilcox heads into the short go-round in steer wrestling sitting 12th.
Wilcox also almost made it team roping despite the fact that he and partner Cotey Hanson missed their final steer. Only 11 duos roped all 3 animals, but the 12th spot went to a team from Northwest Oklahoma who posted the fastest time so far of the CNFR at 5.1. Wilcox and Hanson finished 15th.
Steer wrestler David Hinman of Hay Springs and NJC came into his 3rd round Friday night essentially needing only to take his animal down at all to reach the finals, but instead posted a no-score and finished 25th.
Wyatt Treeby of BHSU moved up in tie-down roping in his last round, but not far enough…finishing 16th.