CHEYENNE, WY – The regular season for the Laramie County Community College rodeo team ended on Saturday night at the Laramie River Rendezvous and as the dust on the season settles, the Golden Eagles are carrying a strong contingent to the College National Finals Rodeo in June.
The team finished with six total finishing in the top three of their respective events, headlined by two-time qualifiers Bernard Girard in steer wrestling and Payton Feyder in breakaway along with first timer’s Chance Derner in tie down roping, Reece Wadhams in team roping, Dixon Tattrie in bulls riding, and Griffin Koester in bull riding.
The only regional champion of the group is the freshman Tattrie, who is entering the event after claiming the title for the top bull rider in the region with 420 points and being named rookie of the year for his performance in bulls and saddle broncs.
He will be joined in the bull riding at the CNFR by fellow Canadian freshman Koester who locked his spot up as the number two man in the region with 365 points.
Laramie County will have a pair of veterans joining the team in Casper as both of their seniors are making a second trip to Casper after sweating out the final races in the standings in Laramie over the weekend.
Girard entered the short go with just a 10-point lead on his teammate Dane Pokorny, but thanks to 40 points and a slow run for Pokorny, the senior was able to come up clutch for his second trip to Casper in steer wrestling.
For Feyder, the wait was more painful after she entered the rodeo in third place but missed her calf in the long go. Fortunately for the Golden Eagle, the only competitors to make it back for the short go were out of the points race for third and her 365 points were enough to hold up.
The Golden Eagles team is rounded out by a pair of juniors making their first trips to the College National Finals. Wadhams and his partner Rio Nutter from the University of Wyoming picked up 485 points in the final four rodeos to not only secure a spot in the CNFR, but Wadhams will be entering the event sitting in the top ten in the country in heelers with 690 points on the year.
While not in the top ten nationally, Derner joins the team in Casper while sitting in the top 15 nationally in tie down roping. The South Dakota native was in the hunt for a regional title until the final rodeo.
The College National Finals Rodeo kicks off on June 11th with Bulls, Broncs, and Breakaway and three Golden Eagles will be competing in the opening session.
Slack rounds will be held on Monday, June 12th and Tuesday June 13th, with four performance nights held on Tuesday through Friday night. The finals will be on Saturday, June 17th at 7:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.cnfr.com.