CSC freshman wins bull riding at Cheyenne rodeo

 

Rice, who is from Kellogg, Idaho, became the first Chadron State bull rider to win that event at a regional rodeo since the spring of 2012. He scored 71 points and was the only bull rider among the 32 entries in the first go-round to stay aboard until the eight-second whistle sounded. He didn’t make the whistle during the finals Sunday, but still earned all of the event’s prize money, more than $1,000.

Rice also was second in the bull riding at the Chadron State rodeo this fall.

Two more CSC entries placed third in their events. They are Elsie Fortune of Interior, South Dakota, in the breakaway roping and Justin Kissack of Gillette, Wyoming, in bareback riding.

Fortune won the opening go-round in 2.2 seconds and had an even faster time, 2.0 seconds, in the finals, but she broke the barrier and was assessed a 10-second penalty, leaving her third in the second go-round and third overall.

Kissack earned 67 points on both of his barebacks to place third and fourth in the go-rounds.

Freshman Lathan Lauing of Oral, South Dakota, completed both of his runs in tie down roping in 11.9 seconds to finish fourth in the event. Senior Clayton Van Aken of Descanso, California, and Trey Yates of LCCC were fourth in team roping in 6.2 and 11.0 seconds. There were 93 teams in the event.

Five Chadron State cowgirls were among the 15 finalists in goat tying. Brandi Cwach of Geddes, South Dakota, and Shelby Winchell of Scottsbluff shared fifth and sixth in the final standings to lead the CSC entries. Cwach completed her runs in 7.0 and 7.6 seconds. Winchell’s times were 6.9 and 7.7 seconds.

Other CSC goat tiers in the finals were Kelsey Knust of Verdigre, Nebraska, Abbie Frey of Crawfordsville, Indiana, and Jordan Tierney of Oral, South Dakota.

Both Chadron State teams were fourth in the LCCC team standings. The men scored 295 points, their lowest at the five rodeos this fall, but they have 2,280 total points, putting them 382.5 points ahead of runner-up Eastern Wyoming College by 382.5 points and 635 ahead of third place Casper College at the end of the fall season.

The CSC women collected 155 points in Cheyenne, their second lowest of the season. They have tallied 855 points this fall, putting them fifth in the team standings, 300 fewer than the University of Wyoming, which is third. Gillette College has the lead with 1,403.30 points and Northeastern Junior College at Sterling, Colorado, is second with 1,213.30.

The top three men’s and women’s teams from the region qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo in June. The region’s spring schedule will begin in March.