Men's Rodeo Named Team Roping Champions in Back-to-Back Rodeos, Segura Places 3rd

The T-Birds won the team roping competition for the second straight rodeo this week at the Clarendon College Rodeo behind the stellar performance of Irvin Varela and Holland Taylor-Roukema on Saturday, Oct. 12.

"Holland and Irvin did such a great job this weekend," NMJC men's rodeo head coach Stewy Kinley said. "We had the same game plan as we did with Lyvan and Cason when they won at Sul Ross two weeks ago. Holland likes to go fast when he draws well and sees an opportunity. After Sul Ross we visited about riding Holland's horse to the steer and taking an extra swing or two to set the run up."

Taylor-Roukema and Varela had a great start to the rodeo coming in third place in the Long Round. The T-Birds were able to rope the steer in six seconds flat earning the duo 40 points. 

"We knew they drew a good steer in the Long Round," Coach Kinley said. "Irvin kept him straight and Holland did a perfect job setting it up for Irvin to heel him on the second hop and win third in the Long Round."  

The Short Round went the way of Taylor-Roukema and Varela with the two posting the fastest Short Round finish of 6.7 seconds. The performance was .80 seconds better than second place and added 60 points to the total. 

"This was the second Short Round in a row that we drew the steer they won the first round on," Coach Kinley said. "The game plan was the same. Go make a snappy run without getting ahead of themselves and they executed perfectly. Irvin even took a couple extra swings to make sure and they won the short round and the average." 

NMJC was first in average by .30 seconds after registering a cumulative score of 12.7 seconds. The T-Birds won the team roping rodeo for the second straight time giving NMJC 60 more points for a total of 160 points at the Clarendon College rodeo. 

"All of these guys on our team rope really well and there's a lot of really tough teams in the region," Coach Kinley said. "I think the key to consistency is to have a good game plan and stick to it. We only have 10 rodeos, which in the rodeo world isn't a lot. But at the same time, the key to these rodeos is treating it like a marathon."

The finish puts Taylor-Roukema and Varela in second place for the Southwest Region Team Roping Standings with 160 points each. Cason Hatley and Lyvan Gonzalez are sixth in the rankings with 135 points each. 

"There's a lot of teams that try to go fast and max out and it's not consistent," Coach Kinley said. "I've always said just make your run and if you draw good enough, they'll hand you the buckles. If you don't draw the best, you can still make your run without costly mistakes and can get out of there with 100 points and you're that much closer to the CNFR. The fun part about the last two rodeos is that we've drawn really well and these guys have taken advantage of it."

The T-Birds sit in ninth place in the Men's Southwest Region Standings with 315 points due to Taylor-Roukema and Varela not being on the points team this week.

Now over to the women's rodeo squad.

Evann Segura earned the women's team their first points of the season this week in Clarendon. Segura was T-7 in the Long Round of the Breakaway Roping with a time of 2.4 seconds.  

"In the first round, Evann made a near flawless run. The breakaway roping hinges on the start (the head start given to the calf – it is all about timing) and she could not have gotten out any better," NMJC women's rodeo head coach Alexa Wilcox said. "She had a small issue with her rope so took one more swing than we would have liked, but it was a very professional run and got the job done."

The Stanley, NM native recorded a 3.1 second performance in the Short Round to earn 40 points. Segura finished third in average at 5.5 seconds to gain another 40 points and bring her total to 80 points for the weekend. 

"In the Short Round, we watched a video of her calf and saw that it was on the slower end," Coach Wilcox said. "The calf ended up being stronger so she was a little late on the start but her horse Poker worked outstanding and got her in position quickly so that she could take her first shot."

The performance Saturday puts Segura in a tie for 11th place in the Southwest Region Breakaway Roping Standings. Macye Maben is currently 14th in the same standings with 70 points.

Segura also had a good showing in the barrel racing this weekend with a Long Round performance of 15.88 seconds. The time was .05 seconds out of making it to the Short Round.

"Evann is very talented and I'm glad she finally had her chance to prove that in the Short Round this weekend," Coach Wilcox said. "Evann has placed in the top 20 of both of her events (breakaway and barrels), so it was very rewarding for her to finally break the ice! College rodeo is a big momentum game, and I know this will give Evann the push she needs to finish out the semester strong." 

The T-Bird women's team now moves to eighth in the Southwest Region Standings. 

"Having any of your team members make it to the Short Round is rewarding for everyone – we all practice together each day," Coach Wilcox said. "It's also very motivating for our teammates as they can build on the excitement and momentum in practice to hopefully see multiple NMJC vests back on Saturday night in every event. We have the talent on the team to do so – it's just up to the athletes to put their best foot forward."

NMJC will have a week off and then hop right back on the horse Oct. 24-26 in Lubbock, Texas at the Texas Tech Rodeo.