ROCK SPRINGS — The Wyoming High School rodeo season rode into spring with a two-day doubleheader in Rock Springs, where competitors from across the state turned out for separate rodeos held Saturday and Sunday, April 19-20. The weekend marked the official start of the spring portion of the high school rodeo season, with each day’s results counting individually toward cumulative season totals.
Rodeo athletes earn points throughout both the fall and spring seasons, and only the top ten competitors in each event at the end of the full year will advance to the state finals in Buffalo. Here is a look at how the local competitors did.
Day One – Saturday Rodeo Highlights:
From Rock Springs, Isaac Frandsen had a strong showing in light rifle with a score of 292, earning 9 points at second place. He also placed fourth in trap shooting with 92.5 points. Stryder Abbott added a fifth-place finish in light rifle and 12th in trap shooting.
Farson athletes saw action across the board. Taci Jones placed fifth in breakaway roping with a 2.860-second run and also competed in goat tying, taking 19th. She was on a team for team roping, but they didn’t post a time either night. Katherine Weese ran a 16.523 in barrel racing, taking 13th, and participated in goat tying. Rounding out the Farson finishes on Saturday, Cooper Jones placed fifth in tie-down roping with a 13.740.
From Big Piney, the Hays and Cael Espenscheid team earned a win in team roping with a 7.510 time, while Jace Bowles and partner Jackson Phillips from Moorcroft came in 15th. Hays also earned a point in tie-down roping, finishing 10th with a time of 18.530. Cael and Bowles also competed in tie-down roping but were unable to score any points.
Boulder’s Kloe Nichols clocked a winning time of 15.910 in barrel racing, but drew a no-score in breakaway.
Manila’s Gradie Pendleton competed in four events on Saturday — barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat tying, and team roping. Although she was unable to secure any points, she finished in 17th, 18th, and 32nd in goat tying, breakaway, and barrel racing, respectively. She was not able to post a time in team roping.
Lyman had a strong showing in light rifle and trap shooting, with Stone and Brix Hooten both contributing. Brix was second in trap shooting with 97.2, earning nine points. He earned three points with an eighth-place finish in light rifle with 161.0. Stone finished seventh in light rifle with 165.0, earning four points. He was 11th in trap shooting with 84.0. Strat Youngberg competed in bull riding but wasn’t able to record a score and Braxton Condos was not able to score in team roping.
Green River’s Teague Goodman made appearances in multiple events, including team roping and steer wrestling. While he didn’t score high on Saturday, he came back strong the next day.
Day Two – Sunday Rodeo Highlights:
Farson’s Katherine Weese improved her barrel time in the second rodeo to 15.988 and earned 9 points as she was in second place. Taci Jones returned to form in breakaway, placing fifth again with a 2.770 run. Nichols, representing Boulder, finished sixth in that same event with a 2.820, grabbing 5 points.
Jones and Weese also competed in goat tying, finishing in 16th and 18th place respectively. For Cooper Jones, he just missed out on points with his 11th place finish in tie-down calf roping with his time of 22.68.
Green River’s Goodman made his mark on Sunday, earning 8 points in steer wrestling after placing third with a 24.560-second time and placing fifth in tie-down roping with a 16.360. He also partnered in team roping but wasn’t able to post a time.
Big Piney’s Espenscheids repeated their Saturday team roping victory with a 6.820 and added more points in tie-down roping — Hays placed fourth and Cael also competed. Bowles also returned but did not finish in the points.
Pendleton of Manila earned her first points of the weekend Sunday in team roping, placing 13th alongside Braxton Condos of Lyman, with each earning 4 points. Pendleton also scored one point in goat tying with her 8.5 time, earning 10th place.
