Campbell Places 4th at National Finals Steer Roping

Freshman Kelton Campbell finished fourth at the 2025 National Finals Steer Roping competition in Clarendon, Texas on Monday, May 26.

"Consistency, that's what it's all about, getting them all tied down and Kelton did a good job of doing that," NMJC men's rodeo head coach Stewy Kinley said. "It's always really cool to be up there by the top, and I'm just happy for Kelton that he got it done."

The rules for the competition were changed from last year's event with three go rounds and an average as opposed to three rounds and a short round in 2024. 

Campbell set an NMJC program record for highest finish at the National Finals Steer Roping on Memorial Day. The Lovington, NM native headed into nationals ranked No. 13 in the nation. Campbell was fourth in average with a time of 59.1 seconds to take home $925 out of the final pot. 

"He just went ahead and tied them all down," Coach Kinley said. "It wasn't all pretty the whole time, but Kelton made sure that he got times on all his steers. That's what allowed him to make them guys come get him towards the end."

Sophomore Tyler Espenson was the other T-Bird athlete competing in Clarendon, but he had a tough day and was unable to nab the steers on the second and third go rounds.

NMJC will close out the athletics season June 15-21 when the team roping duo of Lyvan Gonzalez and Cason Hatley head to Casper, Wyoming to compete at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR). 

Stay up to date on the NMJC rodeo team by following them on Facebook and Instagram @nmjc_rodeo.