Box Breaks Away with 87.5 Points at Ranger Rodeo

NMJC rodeo had a solid weekend between the men's and women's teams in Sweetwater, Texas at the Ranger Rodeo.

The top performer for the T-Birds was breakaway roper Mia Box. The freshman reached the Short Round for the first time this season after tying for fourth place in the Long Round with a 2.0 to earn 7.5 points.

Box finished third in the Short Round with a 3.1 to notch 40 more points. She was third in average at 5.1 seconds, earning another 40 points which brought her total to 87.5 points for the weekend.

"Mia had a great week in Sweetwater. She came back fifth to the Short Round at the BFI in Oklahoma and then went 2.0 seconds in the Long Round at the college rodeo," NMJC women's head coach Alexa Wilcox said. "This has been a long time coming – Mia puts in the time and has a lot of talent. I was proud to see it all come to fruition. She was riding a young horse, and the team worked phenomenally in the first round. They missed the barrier a bit in the second round, but Mia made a smart competitive run, and it paid off. I'm excited to see how the rest of her semester shakes out now that she's broken the ice."

The women's team is currently 10th in the Southwest Region Standings.

On the men's side, David Baker earned a score of 74.5 in the Saddle Bronc to sit in seventh place after the Long Round. Baker managed to grab a mark of 74 in the Short Round, but he finished ninth in average with a score of 148.5.

"Dave had a good ride in the Long Round. That bronc didn't break over and kick real hard and he did a good job finishing strong," NMJC head coach Stewy Kinley said. "His Short Round horse was just really good, and he made a really nice ride. The bronc riding got really tough, and we didn't get to finish up near the top but I'm really proud of Dave. He's stepping up this time of year for sure."

Tyler Espenson had himself a solid week in the steer roping. The sophomore from Wildorado, Texas was third in average (two header) and finished third in the second round (two header).

"Tyler did a really good job," Coach Kinley said. "He got his first two tied down and the 2nd run was just like you'd want it. He's got a new horse this spring and it seems to be a game changer for him to where he's getting chances to win again. He ended up 3rd in the second round and 3rd in the average for 80 points towards the standings."

Kelton Campbell performed well in the steer roping as well earning third place (one header).  

"Kelton Campbell made a good run in the one header and was third," Coach Kinley said. "He ended up getting 107 points."

The men's team is currently 11th in the Southwest Region Standings.

The Thunderbirds compete in the third rodeo of the spring April 3-5 in Snyder, Texas at the Western Texas Rodeo.