CJ Day – Staff Writer
The University of Wyoming Rodeo Team finished third in the men’s division and second in the women’s division at their first rodeo of the season last weekend at Chadron State College.
The men’s team placed third with 470 points while the women’s team placed second with 323 points, with additional showings from individual team members not included on the points team.
“If you look at the standings as published, they look pretty mediocre,” said Beau Clark, the head coach for the rodeo team. “When you look at the individual results and there’s so many University of Wyoming in every single event, that gives probably more of an indication of what’s going on.”
Clark said lack of success on the points team was the problem at this rodeo. While the cumulative scores were not enough to top the rankings, the team as a whole placed in every event which is rare.
Unlike other team sports, not all points garnered by team members at a rodeo count toward that team’s cumulative score. Instead, Clark selects six men and four women from among his team, and their points are the only points that count toward UW’s score.
Last weekend, poor showings from riders on the points team drove down the cumulative score, but other students who were not included on the points team managed to pull high scores in various events. In particular, freshmen Cash Wilson and Donny Proffit lead with their showings, with Wilson placing first in saddle bronc riding with a score of 147, and Proffit tying for third in bareback bronc riding with a score of 142. On the women’s team, Kelsey Lensegrav placed fourth in both breakaway roping and goat tying.
“Some of our older kids who are expected to execute and get it done dropped the ball at times,” said Clark. “If I had picked the right six boys, we would have scored 800 points. It’s always gonna be a guessing game, there are different variables that happen, you never know what’s gonna go wrong.”
Often, things go wrong that cannot be accounted for or easily fixed, Clark said. For example, two UW competitors in women’s goat tying had very unruly animals, leading to time loss. Other animals can be very unpredictable as well.
“Rodeo isn’t like football, where you can spend all your practices preparing for a certain offense or defense. With us, it’s our guy against the bucking horse, or our girl against the calf,” said Clark.
Despite these early setbacks, Clark said he feels the team is well-prepared for the next rodeo, happening this weekend at Sheridan College. He does plan to make some changes to the points team, based off the showings last weekend. Wilson and Proffit have proved their usefulness, he said, while some members of the team need to show more improvement.
“All in all, we need to keep doing what we’re doing. With more focus on the most basic fundamentals, we’ll be more successful.” Clark said.
For a full breakdown of rankings and points, http://www.collegerodeo.com/standings/2014-2015-central-rocky-mountain-region-standings/
