NMJC's Wigemyr, Collier qualify for CNFR, Eakin named C.O.Y.
T-Birds take second place at Tarleton State Rodeo
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The New Mexico Junior College rodeo team qualified two for the College National Finals Rodeo and saw coach Marty Eakin earn NIRA-SWR 2015 Rodeo Coach of the Year following this weekend's Tarleton State Rodeo.
NMJC barrel racer Kellie Collier finished the season in third place to qualifying for the CNFR held in June in Casper, Wyo., while team roper Devin Wigemyr took fourth place and will be picked up for the CNFR as well.
Eakin was voted coach of the year by his fellow coaches in the region.
As for the Tarleton State Rodeo itself, the NMJC men's team took second place – finishing behind only host Tarleton State.
NMJC freshman Keely Bonnett teamed with Ranger College's Cory Clark to take first in team roping as the duo snagged first in the long go (5.0 seconds) and the short go (4.9).
Bonnett's teammate Clay Brownlee split seventh and eighth with partner Kamryn Boucher from Odessa College in the long go (7.9) but failed to record a time in the short go.
In saddle bronc riding, NMJC freshman Preston Burr took third place in average as he placed second in the long go (76 points) and third in the short go (74 points). Burr, who missed the first four spring rodeos due to a fractured collar bone, still took fifth in the overall standings.
Burr's teammate Kolton Burnett took fifth, taking seventh in the long go (70) and fifth in the short go (59).
In steer wrestling, NMJC sophomore Charlie Barefoot took seventh, splitting eighth through 10th in the long go (5.6) and finishing seventh in the short go (15.4).
Linden Woods had a strong start in bareback riding for NMJC, splitting second and third with a 75 in the long go. However, he was unable to record a score in the short go. Woods finished the season in fifth place in the region.
NMJC's Bonnett also took fifth place in the region in tie down roping, finishing 25 points short of qualifying for the CNFR.