NHSFR qualifiers: Wyoming high school rodeo athletes to compete at national finals

Wyoming high school rodeo athletes wrapped up their regular rodeo season during three performances in Buffalo over Memorial Day weekend, then gathered in Rock Springs for the Wyoming High School State Finals Rodeo June 3-9. 

The top four in each event will return to Rock Springs July 14-20 to vie for a prestigious national championship title during the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR). 

Rough stock, roping and steer wrestling

After two consecutive first- and second-place round wins, only two bareback riders qualified for the national finals. 

Tuker Carricato of Saratoga ended the week in the first-place slot with a total score of 156 on two rides, followed by Green River’s Jacob Cook with 142 points. 

A pair of Gillette cowboys will compete for a national championship in the saddle bronc riding as well. 

Earning a total score of 120 on two rides, Owen Thomson finished first in the average, while Garrett Pace ended second thanks to his first-place 69-point ride in round two. 

With 151 points, Brenson Bartlett of Cheyenne took first in the average and will make an appearance at the NHSFR, followed by Owen Monfeldt of Cody in second with 80 points and Kolby Smith of Sheridan in third with 63 points. 

On the roping front, partners Dylan Thar of Douglas and Braxton Burford of Mitchell finished first in the team roping average with a total 16.01 seconds on two head. They were followed by Cam Johnson of Buffalo and Cael Espenscheid of Buffalo with 17.78 total seconds.

Partners Cade Thar of Rozet and Hazen Camino of Buffalo were third with 24.16 seconds on two head, followed by Yoder’s Hadley Thompson and Asa Pixley of Sundance with a total of 40.19 seconds in fourth place. 

With a total of 22.46 seconds, Gillette’s Talon Larson won the average and punched a ticket to the NHSFR in the tie-down roping, followed by Burford in second with a total of 22.75 seconds, Austin Pixley of Sundance in third with a total of 24.22 seconds and Jim Coxbill of Laramie in fourth with a total of 28.96 seconds.

In the breakaway, Thompson topped the leaderboard again, running a total of 5.22 seconds on two head, followed by Rhame Hicks of Gillette in second with a total of 5.88 seconds. Big Horn’s Bleu Butler finished the event in third place with a total of 7.49 seconds on two head, while Gradie Pendleton of Manila finished fourth with a total of 8.29 seconds. 

Three cowboys made the cut in steer wrestling, including Ian Dickinson of Rock Springs in first place with a total of 15.26 seconds, Connor Weese of Farson in second place with 29.34 seconds and Cole Kreikemeier of Jackson in third with 30.83 seconds. 

Cow horse and cutting 

In the reined cow horse event, Worland’s Sydnee Roady finished first in the average, scoring a total 435 points. 

A one-point difference landed Josie Waite of Morrill in second place, followed by Cooper Justus of Parkman in third with 432.1 points and Baliegh Lane of Huntley in fourth with 429.5 points. 

Lane will make an appearance at the 2024 NHSFR in the girls cutting as well, finishing second in the average with a total score of 217, two points behind Gillette’s Adeline Norstegaard in first place with a score of 219.

Fellow Gillette cowgirl Kaitlyn Snyder will also compete in the cutting, finishing third in the state finals average with a score of 211.5. Karly Peterson of Buffalo rounded out the top four in the event with a score of 211. 

Brother’s Keyton and Cody Hayden of Gillette swept the boys cutting event, finishing in the first- and second-place positions, respectively. Only a half of a point separated the two – Keyton on top of the podium with 215 points and Cody in second with 214.5 points.

A score of 205 points earned Porter McCumber of Thermopolis a third-place finish behind the Hayden brothers, and Brady Boller of Weston claimed the fourth-place position in the event with a score of 204 points. 

Other women’s events

In one of the weekend’s closest competitions, Abagail Olson of Sheridan took home the win in barrel racing with a total time of 34.73 seconds, followed by Buffalo’s Kamry Davis with a total of 34.92 seconds and Kloe Nichols of Boulder with 35.54 seconds.

Thompson punched her ticket to the finals in two more events, finishing fourth in the barrel racing average with a total time of 35.62 seconds and second in the goat tying average with a total time of 15.25 behind Morgan Watts of Eden with a time of 14.74 seconds. 

Gillette cowgirl Rickie Jo Rourke ended the week in the third-place position in goat tying with a total time of 16.69 seconds, followed by Kasey Carr of Jackson in fourth with a total time of 16.93 seconds. 

Talli Engel of Rozet was the 2024 Wyoming State High School Finals Rodeo Pole Bending Champion with a total time of 43.16 seconds, and Stacy Ruggles of Laramie claimed the second-place slot with a total time of 44.14 seconds.

Pole bending will be the second event Peterson makes an appearance in during the national finals, finishing third in the average with a total time of 45.01 seconds, followed by Caitlin Moore of Wright in fourth place with a total time of 45.03 seconds. 

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.