NMJC (Rodeo) Sends 6 to Short Round in Odessa
The NMJC rodeo teams began the spring season sending six rodeo athletes to the Short Round at the Odessa College Rodeo on Saturday, Feb. 28.
The men's team led the way this week in Odessa, Texas with five student-athletes making it to the Short Round.
Teagan Taylor-Roukema has made his mark during the 2025-26 season reaching the Short Round in five of the six rodeos.
Roukema was second in the Long Round with a 6.6 second run to earn 50 points. He was one of three team ropers to finish the Short Round after recording 7.5 run for a second-place finish and an additional 50 points. The sophomore was also second in the average grabbing 50 more points and finishing the rodeo with 150 points total. The T-Bird heeler is leading the Caprock Region standings with 620 points. The nearest competitor is 240 points away.
"Teagan just continues to do his job and keeps gathering points like he did throughout the fall semester," NMJC men's rodeo head coach Stewy Kinley said. "He's been roping really good. Mr. Consistent is a great name for him. I'm really happy with how he continues to dominate this region with his partner, Jacob Walters. Jacob's done an awesome job on the head side, and I think they have a lot of confidence in each other. This is a team that's going to continue to rack up a lot of points, and they've got high expectations for themselves."
Lucas Ozirney mimicked his previous performance at the Thunderbird Rodeo this week in Odessa with near identical results. The bull rider won the Long Round of the competition with a 78-point ride like he did in Hobbs in October but was a no score in the short go. He finished second in the average due to the competition only having two riders make it to the short go.
Ozirney registered 60 points in the Long Round and 50 points in the average for a total of 110 points just as he did in the Thunderbird rodeo. He is now No. 7 in the Caprock Region standings with 220 points.
"Lucas has been riding really well in the practice pen," Coach Kinley said. "It was no surprise that he made his Long Round bull look as easy as he did. He had a little tough luck in the Short Round and I'm not going to make excuses for him because he'd ride that bull every time if he got on him again."
Treyden Gonzales has now made it to the Short Round of the rodeo for a fifth time this year. Gonzales finished third in the Long Round of the tie down roping with a 10.0 run to notch 40 points. He was fifth in the short go with an 11.5 second performance for another 20 points. The freshman finished third in average for an additional 40 points to end the rodeo with a total of 100 points in Odessa. Gonzales is in second place in the tie down roping standings for the Caprock Region.
"Treyden's very handy in both of his events," Coach Kinley said. "He ropes smart and sets up his runs really well. He set up another really good run in the Short Round and had to overcome flanking his calf on a loose rope. He salvaged that run with a tremendous effort and got out of there with 100 points."
Ryker Hutchinson and Conner Wright recorded a 7th-place finish in the team roping with a time of 8.7 seconds. They were a no time in the Short Round. Hutchinson previously made the short go in the fall in Lubbock.
"These guys are a newly formed team, and I think they complement each other well," Kinley said. "Ryker has hit another level in his roping this spring and Conner ropes the feet really well. We'll be seeing quite a bit more from them this spring."
The men's team added 360 points to the team's total. They now have 1,735 points so far this season.
"Our guys have been working hard since they came back in January," Coach Kinley said. "They've been practicing the right way and we're going to continue with that. They're preparing and executing the right things every day in practice, and I still think the best is yet to come for this whole team!"
Women's Team
The women's team's top competitor at the Odessa College Rodeo was breakaway roper Kadey Urbantke.
The sophomore was T-4 in the Long Round with a 2.8 second run to earn 20 points for the women's team. The Muleshoe, Texas native was a no time in the Short Round. Urbantke has made the Short Round three times this season but has yet to successfully rope a calf in the short go.
"Kadey made a strong run in the first round on a faster calf," NMJC women's rodeo head coach Alexa Wilcox said. "I was very proud of her for taking care of business. She made a great run in the Short Round, but some bad luck kept her from receiving a time."
The women's team added 20 points to their total this week. They now have 523.33 points on the season.
"Overall, our team made some small errors that cost them big at the rodeo," Coach Wilcox said. "We will spend the next month refocusing on the basics and the finer details before Snyder at the end of the month."
The T-Birds will have a month-long break and then be back on the road to compete at the Western Texas College Rodeo in Snyder, Texas March 26-28.