CASPER, WY – Two Golden Eagles made their performance debuts at the College National Finals Rodeo on Wednesday night as Rayne Grant had her final go in breakaway and Kassidy Dunagan followed later on in the evening in goat tying.
Dunagan was the star of the night for the Golden Eagles.
The sophomore from Whitehall, Montana posted her fastest time of the CNFR with a 6.6 in her third go. This, combined with a 7.4 from the first go and a 7.2 from her second, has her sitting in sixth place with half of the field still to go.
Her 6.6 was also the second fastest of the third go so far and is part of a three-way tie for third.
“It was really good. I was really proud of my performance and my horse,” Dunagan said. “Putting three solid runs together makes me feel like I have my consistency down.”
The top 12 will qualify for Saturday’s finals.
Grant was in a tough spot with only one catch, but a 2.2 on her second go gave her a chance with a good time, and she just about nailed the opportunity. Unfortunately, she was just a little quick out of the box and her 2.1 became a 12.1.
The 2.1 would have been the second fastest time in the round.
“I’m pretty upset that I caught the barrier tonight but overall, I roped him good, and my horse worked good so at the end of the day that’s all I can ask for,” Grant said.
Finnerty said he was proud of the efforts of both competitors even though the results were a mixed bag.
“Rayne went for the win, and she had to do that to get more points for the All-Around and I’m proud of both of them for doing what they did. They’ve worked hard for this, and they are doing a good job.”
As a team, the duo of Grant and Dunagan have potential to set even more history for LCCC. The Golden Eagle women’s team is currently in eighth place in the standings with 85 points. There are only 47.5 points separating them from 4th place.
LCCC will have one athlete up in the Thursday night performance when Grant looks for a third clean run in barrel racing. Grant was in fifth in the average for barrels after the second go and is in a good position to make it to Saturday.
“It’s definitely in your mind,” Grant said of the potential to be competing on Saturday. “But you just do the best you can in each event and see where it puts you because it’s out of your control at that point.”
“Rayne’s got a solid chance if she just takes care of business like she has been doing,” Finnerty said. “Reece and Rio have an outside chance if they can come back on Friday night and do something big and they have a chance to be on Saturday too.”
Friday will see Reece Wadhams and Rio Nutter get their final shot when they are the last team roping duo out. Only two teams have completed all three catches, and only four more have two catches, so despite only having one catch, the team is still in the running for Saturday as well.
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