BUFFALO — One final weekend stands between Wyoming’s top high school rodeo athletes and a trip to the National High School Finals Rodeo.
The 2026 Wyoming High School State Finals Rodeo begins Thursday in Buffalo, where competitors will have two go-rounds to add crucial points to their season totals. When the dust settles, the top four competitors in each event will earn the right to represent Wyoming at the NHSFR in Nebraska later this summer.
Athletes from Sweetwater, Sublette and Uinta counties enter the season finale in contention across several events, while reigning national champion Hadley Thompson of Yoder returns looking to build on one of the most dominant seasons in the state.
Thompson enters Buffalo leading both breakaway roping and goat tying. The Yoder cowgirl accumulated 83 points in breakaway roping and 130 in goat tying during the regular season and also sits third in barrel racing and seventh in pole bending.
Her success comes less than a year after a historic performance at the 2025 National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, where she captured world championships in breakaway roping, goat tying and the all-around cowgirl title.
Among local competitors, Green River’s Teague Goodman is in strong position entering the state finals. Goodman sits second in steer wrestling with 112 points and is well within reach of a nationals berth. He also enters the weekend ranked in the top 10 in team roping with his teammate, Gradie Pendleton from Manila, and 19th in tie-down calf roping.
Sublette County athletes will be heavily represented throughout the week.
Big Piney’s Jace Bowles enters Buffalo second in tie-down calf roping with 79 points, placing him in excellent position to qualify for nationals. Bowles is also part of a team roping partnership with Jackson Phillips of Moorcroft that will compete at state.
Fellow Big Piney cowboy Hays Espenscheid sits 11th in tie-down calf roping with 48 points and will also compete in team roping alongside Tanner Griemsman of Worland.
Sublette County’s Frankie Gransden of Pinedale also competed in barrel racing this year, entering the state finals with two points.
The shooting sports feature several local contenders positioned near the top of the standings.
Green River’s Cooper Brownlee enters the week fifth in light rifle with 59 points and fourth in trap shooting with 54 points. Teammate Reese Dana is 12th in light rifle and 16th in trap shooting.
Lyman’s Stone Hooten will be one of the favorites in the shooting arena. He enters the state finals first in trap shooting with 85 points and sixth in light rifle with 42 points.
Rock Springs competitors are also in the hunt. Ranger Duncombe sits 11th in light rifle and ninth in trap shooting, while Stryder Abbott enters eighth in trap shooting and 14th in light rifle.
Manila, Utah, competitor Gradie Pendleton, who competes through the Wyoming High School Rodeo Association, enters the week 19th in breakaway roping and 16th in goat tying, along with his top ten team-up in team roping.
In bull riding, Lyman’s Strat Youngberg enters sixth in the standings with 43 points and remains in contention for a nationals berth.
Competition begins Thursday morning with the first performance at 9 a.m. at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. The second performance of the opening go-round is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday. The second go-round begins Friday morning, with points from both rounds determining who advances to Saturday’s short go and ultimately who will earn the opportunity to represent Wyoming on the national stage.
