RIVERTON, WY – The Laramie County Community College rodeo team was in the spotlight again at the Rustler Roundup Rodeo in Chadron over the weekend, picking up a second-place finish from the men's team, closely followed by a third-place finish by the women as the strong start to the 2023 fall season continued.

The men's team was paced by Rhett Witt who claimed the All-Around title with points from steer wrestling and tie down to claim the title by 75 points over the next qualifier.

Witt's performance in tie down was the difference for him where he picked up a tie for third in the long go before posting the second fastest time in the short go to place second in the average and pick up 145 points for the team score.

Dixon Tattrie also had a big performance in saddle bronc where he placed first in the long go with an 82 and his 74 was good for fifth in the short go and to finish third in the average and add 120 points.

That wasn't the only Golden Eagle in the rough stock to do well. Tanner Drueke was only able to ride one bronc, but his 73 in the long go was second in the round and only three riders were able to stay on two, giving him a fourth-place finish in the average for his first points of the season.

Tate Miller was also able to ride his second bronc and he picked up a sixth-place finish in the round with a 61-point ride in the short go.

In steer wrestling, Gage Davis kept up his hot start to the year with a fifth-place finish in the long with a time of 5.5 which was paired with a 4.4 in the short go. That gave him third place finishes in the short go and the average and have Davis sitting at the top of the Central Rocky Mountain Region standings after two weeks.

Rhett Witt was also able to qualify for the short go and his time of 6.8 put was fifth best in the round and he finished sixth in the average with a time of 12.7 on two.

Team roping has been a good event for LCCC with Reece Wadhams and his partner Rio Nutter from the University of Wyoming finishing in the top two of the average over the weekend. Their time of 6.1 in the long go was tied for the top time, and they were one of only two teams to complete their catch for a time of 12.1 in the short go giving them a second-place finish in the round and the average to pick up 155 points.

On the women's side, Rayne Grant and Wacey Day were the leaders in the long go in barrel racing. The pair finished one-two in the long go, but both also hit barrels in the short go to take what would have been top three times to finish outside of the top six in the short go and the average.

The only other points for the women's team came in breakaway where Payton Feyder picked up her first points of the season. A 2.7 in the long go was a tenth of a second out of the top six but it brought her back for the short go where she posted a 3.1 to finish sixth in the short go and in the average.

Shelby Derner was also able to tally points in the long go with a 2.5 placing her fourth.

Regional standings after two weeks

The Golden Eagles have a slew of competitors already putting themselves in the conversations for regional qualifiers, although there is a long way to go with eight rodeos' remaining.

Davis is tied for the top spot in steer wrestling with 170 points in two rodeos putting him in a race with Sam Gallagher of the University of Wyoming for the title.

Also leading the way after two rodeo's is Reece Wadhams whose 190 points is 10 better than Coy Johnson of Gillette College for heelers.

Rayne Grant finds herself in second place in barrels, tied with Loralee Ward of Colorado State University with 160 points and is one of only three total competitors to have scored points in both rodeos so far. Grant is also seventh in the breakaway standings early and should be in the conversation for the All-Around title by the end of the year.

Also sitting in a good spot early on is Rhett Witt in tie down where his 145-point week moved him up to third in the overall standings.

The rough stock has seen good performances in saddle bronc and bareback. Tate Miller is making a push early as he sits in fourth place with 130 points. Also in third place is Dixon Tattrie whose 120-point weekend moved him into a tie for third with Thayne Elshere from Gillette College.