NHSFR wraps up in Rock Springs
The 2024 National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) wrapped up on July 20, marking the end of the 76th annual rodeo where hundreds of high school athletes from across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand competed for top honors.
This year, the rodeo made its way back to the Sweetwater Events Complex in Rock Springs, and competitors hailing from Wyoming represented the Cowboy State well.
The Wyoming Girls’ Team finished fourth in the nation with 3,320 points, following Texas in first with 5,655 points; Idaho in second with 4,278.33 points and Utah in third with 4,005 points. Nebraska rounded out the top five with 2,925 points.
The Wyoming Boys’ Team finished 14th in the nation with 2,090 points. The boys were led by Texas with 4,997.5 points, followed by Utah in second with 4,037.5 points; Oklahoma in third with 3,630 points; Oregon in fourth with 3,525 points and Arizona in fifth with 3,285 points.
A combined total score of 5,410 points earned Wyoming an overall sixth-place finish behind Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, Idaho and Nebraska in first through fifth place, respectively.
Barrels, goats and poles
Wyoming women impressed at the 2024 NHSFR, landing on the podium on more than one occasion.
Sheridan’s Abagail Olson ended the week second in the barrel racing average behind Morgan Beckstrom of Spanish Fork, Utah. Brynn Barto of Winnemucca, Nev. finished third in the event, followed by Rylee Jo Maryman of St. Francisville, La. in fourth place and Kally Sorenson of Watford City, N.D. in fifth.
One second separated Wyoming cowgirl Hadley Thompson of Yoder from the top spot in the goat tying average. She finished second behind Drew Ellen Stewart of Normangee, Texas and in front of Hailey Gibbs of Riverside, Utah in third; Brooke Bruner of Parker, Colo. in fourth and Faith Lundberg of Nanton, Alberta, Canada in fifth.
Wyoming’s Morgan Watts of Eden also clinched a finish in the top 20, ending the week 19th in the goat tying at the 2024 NHSFR.
Two cowgirls hailing from the northeast corner of the state finished in the top 20 in the pole bending average as well.
Gillette’s Abby Millburg concluded the week 17th in the nation, while Caitlin Moore of Wright finished 19th.
The top five in the event were Zoey Wagoner of Arnegard, N.D. in first; Rhylan Morgan of Muncie, Ind. in second; Kaden Burger of Pauls Valley, Okla. in third; Stewart in fourth and Kinley Follman of Towner, N.D. in fifth.
Roping and wrestling
Thompson had another second-place finish in the breakaway roping, following Baylee Barker of Atlanta, Kan. who took home the national championship title.
In third was Addison Kinser of Capitan, N.M., while Addison Klementis of Molalla, Ore. finished fourth and Arina Haugen of Sturgis, N.D. rounded out the top five in the event.
An Arizona duo including Ketch Kelton of Mayer, Ariz. and Denton Dunning of Surprise, Ariz., swept the competition in the team roping average and were crowned national champions.
Two teams representing the state of Nevada battled for the second- and third-place positions in the event. Jace Jepson of Las Vegas and his partner Kade McKnight of Fernley, Nev. came out on top, while Blake VanStavern of Lincoln Calif. and Noah Williams of Schurz, Ariz. finished third.
Brothers Sanders and Scout McElroy of Mountain View, Ark. ended the week fourth in the team roping average, while Rance Bowden and Sean Weishaar, both of Belle Fourche, S.D., finished fifth.
Wyoming brothers Case and Ryder Kerr of Afton barely missed the mark for the top five in the event, taking home sixth-place team roping honors.
Two Oklahoma cowboys – Chizm Kuykendall of Carnegie, Okla. and Cash Evans of Fort Supply, Okla. – made the Sooner State proud by taking home the first- and second-place titles in the tie-down roping average.
Kelton made the leaderboard for a second time, ending the week third in the event, followed by Cross Fulford of Moore Haven, Fla. in fourth and Jett Smith of Georgetown, Idaho in fifth.
The steer wrestling average was led by Walker Goffard of Berlin, Wis., who was followed by Cache Montgomery of La Pine, Ore. in second place; Carson Cooksley of Valentine, Neb. in third place; Hadly Erickson of Almont, N.D. in fourth place and Kade Odens of Scotland, S.D. in fifth place.
Buffalo’s Colson Myers clinched a top 10 finish in the event, ending the week seventh in the nation, while fellow Wyoming cowboy Trenton Sheehan of Rozet made the top 20 at 14th in the nation.
Roughstock
Brenson Bartlett of Cheyenne was the only Wyomingite to make a top 10 finish across three roughstock events at the 2024 NHSFR.
He finished seventh in the bull riding average behind Jack Mitchell of Weatherford, Texas in first; John Crimber of Sunset, Texas in second; Macoy Attebury of Springville, Calif. in third; Clay Guiton of Cherryville, N.C. in fourth and Lane Leeper of Leon, Iowa in fifth.
Another Texas cowboy – Kash Loyd of Cleburne, Texas – took home first-place honors in the bareback riding average. He was followed in second place by Sean Mahoney of Bend, Ore. and Quaide Skjonsberg of Bluffton, Alberta, Canada in third.
Collin Roland of Childersburg, Ala. was fourth in the event and Carson Hildre of Nelva, N.D. was fifth.
The national champion in the saddle bronc riding at the 2024 NHSFR was Shane Scott of Molalla, Ore., while Trygg Madsen of Morgan, Utah finished second and Jett Williams of Clarinda, Iowa finished third.
Wyatt LaVergne of Sulphur, La. and Holden Atkinson of Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada respectively finished fourth and fifth in the event.
Cutting and reined cow horse
The 2024 NHSFR also included a week’s worth of tough cutting and reined cow horse competition.
Cody Gann of Leighton, Ala. won the boys cutting average, followed by Luke Haskell of Payson, Utah in second; Drew Sherrerd of Wayne, Okla. in third; Ruff Graham of Merkel, Texas in fourth and Cooper Yarbro of Oxly, Mo. in fifth.
Wyoming’s Keyton Hayden of Gillette made the top 20 in the event, finishing 16th in the nation at the end of the week.
Two Wyoming cowgirls also made the top 20 in the girls cutting average. Gillette’s Adeline Norstegaard concluded the competition 14th in the nation, while Karly Peterson of Buffalo finished 19th.
A point and a half separated Huntley’s Baliegh Lane from the top 20 in the event. She finished 21st in the nation.
The top five finishers in the girls cutting include Lily Erwin of Lady Lake, Fla. in first; Preslie Green of Perrin, Texas in second; Makenzie Cowan of Ardmore, Okla. in third; Anna Martin of Steelville, Mo. in fourth and Mattie Coberly of Hereford, Texas in fifth.
In the reined cow horse competition, Landri Lisac of Pueblo, Colo. took home first-place honors, followed by Marinna Mori of Tuscarora, Nev. in second; Sierra Telford of Caldwell, Idaho in third and Quincy Probst of Wallsburg, Utah in fourth.
Two California cowgirls tied for fifth place in the event – Ruby Robbins of Brawley, Calif., riding for team Arizona and Betty Branquinho of Oakdale, Calif., riding for team California.
All-Around athletes
A pair of Wyoming cowgirls made the leaderboard in the All-Around, with Thompson ending the week just shy of the taking home All-Around Cowgirl honors. She finished second behind Stewart and ahead of Emma Garjio of Winnemucca, Nev. in third and Haugen in fourth.
Olson rounded out the top five cowgirls in the nation.
The boys’ All-Around title was won by Kelton, followed by Jepson in second; Parker Ralston of Collbran, Colo. in third; Leeper in fourth and Williams in fifth.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
