CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College rodeo team resumes their season starting this weekend at Gillette College and both the men’s and women’s teams are looking to make a push for the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming.
The men enter the final five rodeos sitting in fourth place in the Central Rocky Mountain Region with 1,448.33 points, leading Central Wyoming College by 438.33 points, and trailing the University of Wyoming for the third spot by 512.33 points. Currently, Casper College sits in second overall with 2,280 points and Gillette College leads overall with 2,315 points.
On the women’s side, LCCC’s 1,097.5 points puts them in third place, trailing the University of Wyoming by just 70 points. Both are looking up at Gillette College whose 1,880 points leads the CRMR. Eastern Wyoming College is also in the hunt with 910 points in fourth place.
The top two teams on the men’s and women’s sides qualify for the CNFR automatically.
Individually, multiple Golden Eagles are in the hunt for a spot at the championships in June.
Dixon Tattrie is in the top three in both saddle bronc riding where his 358.3 points has him in third place, 43.3 points ahead of Gillette’s Thayne Elshere, and in bull riding he is tied for the third spot with 120 points with Wyatt Phelps of Sheridan College.
Griffin Koester is just 20 points back in bull riding in a tie for fifth and Gage Hillis is only 30 points behind in seventh in the standings. Both Koester and Tattrie are looking for return trips to Casper for the CNFR after qualifying as freshman last year.
The Golden Eagles also have seen a strong freshman campaign from Tate Miller in bareback this season, where his 300 points is good for fourth in the CRMR, with 125 points separating him from third, which is being held down by Colton Farrow from the University of Wyoming.
Rhett Witt is in his third season with LCCC and is having his best season for the Golden Eagles. The junior is in third place in tie-down roping with 205 points and is only 110 points out of the top spot. Gage Davis (12th) and Cory Bomhoff (14th) are also in the conversation, sitting in the top 15 in the standings with 130 and 110 points respectively.
Davis is also doing well in steer wrestling where he is sitting in sixth place 1ith 170 points. Five Golden Eagles are in the top 15 of steer wrestling, paced by Tucker Ravenscroft who is in second with 205 points, only trailing Kaden Berger of the University of Wyoming’s 350 points.
Dane Pokorny is in 11th with 135 points, Grey Gilbert is in 12th with 130, and Thayne Kimbrough is in a tie for 14th with 100 points.
Leading the way in the team roping this season and looking for a second straight trip to the CNFR is Reece Wadhams, who is to top heeler in the CRMR with 290 points through the first five rodeos. Wadhams has a narrow 15-point lead on second place, but 100 points separate him from fourth place. His partner Rio Nutter from the University of Wyoming is sitting in second place for heading.
On the women’s side, Rayne Grant is having a stellar year in barrel racing and is looking to get a Golden Eagle to the CNFR in barrels for the first time in recent memory. Her 340 points is just 15 behind the top spot and she has a 85 point lead on Hadley Furnival from the University of Wyoming in third.
Grant is also in fifth place in breakaway roping where she has accumulated 165 points and trails for University of Wyoming Cowgirls. She is 100 points out of third and 122.5 points out of second. Jentry Jenkins is also in the top 15, sitting in 14th with 100 points on the year.
Another Golden Eagle looking for a return to the CNFR is Wacey Day, who qualified last season with Northeastern Junior College before transferring to LCCC this year. She is in sixth place in the standings with 277.5 points and is 102.5 points out of the third spot in the standings. Among the athletes Day trails is her sister with the University of Wyoming, who is in fifth place just 2.5 points ahead.
Rodeo’s resume for the Golden Eagles this weekend beginning with Gillette College on March 15th through the 17th.
The rest of the season will see LCCC traveling to Torrington for the Eastern Wyoming College Rodeo on March 22nd though the 24th before a week off at the end of the month. The schedule picks up with the Skyline Stampede in Fort Collins, Colorado on April 5th through 7th, Ropin’ and Riggin’ Days in Casper, Wyoming on April 12th through 14th, and the regular season concludes with the Laramie River Rendezvous on April 19th through 21st.
More information, including the full schedule and past results can be found at www.golccc.com.