10 T-Birds Compete in the Short Round at FPC Rodeo
NMJC rodeo put seven men and three women into the Short Round at the Frank Phillips College Rodeo in Canadian, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Men's Team
Freshman Treyden Gonzales won the Long Round in the tie down roping with a 10.2 second run to earn 60 points. Gonzales was seventh in the Short Round and ended seventh in the average with a 29.7.
Gonzales also was tied for fifth place in Long Round of the team roping where he earned another 15 points. He received a no time in the Short Round.
"Treyden Gonzales won the Long Round in the tie down roping. He made a great run," NMJC men's rodeo head coach Stewy Kinley said. "His calf was a little weaker than the rest of the herd in the Short Round and he ended up breaking the barrier to win the rodeo by a couple seconds. Small mistake but he's roping really good, so I think he'll be fine over the next few rodeos. He also won 5th in the Long Round in the team roping on a terrible steer. They drew another tough one in the Short Round and got outrun."
Teagan Taylor-Roukema tied for first place in team roping for the Long Round with a time of 6.6 seconds to earn 60 points. In the Short Round, they finished fourth with an 8.7 second run to pick up 30 more points. Roukema was a 15.3 in average marking a second-place finish and another 50 points.
"Teagan did a great job again this weekend. He and his partner won the Long Round with a 6.6," Coach Kinley said. "They safetied up a bit in the Short Round and were 4th which put them 2nd in the average, picking up 140 points. Teagan's just doing his job heeling steers by two feet and that's all we ask. He's sitting 2nd in the region right now with 180 points."
Sophomore Cash Trexler was second in the tie down roping for the Long Round earning 50 points. He was a no time in the Short Round ending the rodeo with 50 total points.
"Cash Trexler won 2nd in the Long Round in the tie down roping," Coach Kinley said. "He had a hard running calf in the Short Round and missed but Cash belongs near the top of the region and I'm glad he broke the ice."
Gonzales, Roukema, and Trexler accounted for 265 of the men's team points this week.
Freshman Gunnar Tipton was tied for ninth in the Long Round of the tie down roping with a 12.9. An 11.0 short go earned him 50 points and a second-place finish. He snagged another 40 points as third in the average with a 23.9.
"Gunnar Tipton made another Short Round in the tie down," Coach Kinley said. "He came back splitting 9th/10th. He got another one tied down in the Short Round and moved up to 3rd in the average. He's sitting 3rd in the region standings as well."
Freshman Triston Flinn finished sixth in the bareback riding with a score of 70 in the Long Round to grab 10 points. Flinn was eighth in the Long Round with a 70 and finished ninth in average.
"Triston Flinn also made another Short Round in the bareback riding," Kinley said. "He was 74 in the Long Round to place 6th. He followed that up with a 70 point ride in the Short Round to finish 9th in the average."
Morgan Adams and Josh Plumer were tied for fifth for the team roping in the Long Round with a 9.1 second run. They earned 15 points each in the Long Round but had no time in the Short Round.
"Morgan Adams and Josh Plumer came back tied for 5th in the team roping and they drew the tough steer that Treyden Gonzales had in the first round and got a no time on him."
The men's team is in seventh place in the Caprock Region standings with 305 points.
"Overall, we had a better weekend. We left a lot of points on the table, but I expect this group to just keep getting better and better as we roll into our home rodeo in a few weeks."
Women's Team
Mia Castagnetto's Long Round was productive with her finishing third in barrel racing with a time of 17.97 to earn 40 points. Castagnetto recorded an 18.51 in the Short Round to finish 10th in the average at 36.48.
Tristin Small finished seventh in the barrels during the Long Round with a time of 18.11. Small was T-9 with a finish of 36.36 in the Short Round and ninth in the average.
"I was very proud of our barrel racers," NMJC women's rodeo head coach Alexa Wilcox said. "We tried some new things, and it paid off," Wilcox said. "They didn't draw the best in the Short Round and had some ground trouble, but I expect to see them both back to several more Short Rounds in the future!"
Mia Box tied for eighth in the Long Round of the breakaway roping. Box was a no time in the Short Round.
"Mia's horse came up sore the day before her run," Coach Wilcox said. "She had to jump ride a horse she hadn't rode before, so I was proud of her for doing her job in the Long Round and taking care of business. She had some tough luck in the Short Round but made smart runs overall."
The women's team is in 10th place in the Caprock Region standings with 13.3 points.
"In this downtime, we are working on our mental game and doing our best under pressure," Coach Wilcox said. "This team is very talented and we have a lot of horsepower. We've made huge improvements in the last month of practice, so now we are finessing how to put that all together in competitive circumstances. I expect this team to come out swinging at the hometown rodeo and can't wait to see what they do."
The Thunderbirds will have a couple weeks off before they host the NMJC Thunderbird Rodeo in Lovington, NM Oct. 23-25 at Jake McClure Arena.