Men’s Team Continues Winning Tradition

Weatherford, Okla. — Extremely strong winds made for difficult rodeo conditions this past weekend, but the Panhandle State Rodeo Team was not about to let anything get in the way of achieving their goal. The weekend was a success for both the men’s and women’s team at the Southwestern Oklahoma State University College Rodeo. The men won the rodeo with a total of 980 points, 540 points ahead of the runner-up team. The women’s team won second place.

Will Martin strikes again proving that he belongs at the top. Martin won both the long round and the short round of the Bareback Riding with scores of 75 and 77 points. Martin therefore won the 2018 Bareback Riding Champion title. Alongside Martin in the Bareback Riding was teammate Dylan Riggins. Riggins was right behind Martin winning second in both rounds with scores of 71 and 73 points, giving him the second place in the average race. Jade Taton was also present winning fourth in the average.

Panhandle State is one tough team to compete against in the Saddle Bronc Riding. There were six Panhandle State men present in the short round and the three top spots belong to Panhandle State. Jake Finlay was the cowboy to beat. Finlay won the first round with a score of 76 points and proceeded to win the short round with 80 points, making him the 2018 Saddle Bronc Champion. Dawson Dahm was a close second followed by Cooper Thatcher winning the third place in the average. Also in the short round representing Panhandle State were Denton Ward, Jade Taton, and Logan Hay.

Panhandle State also won the Bull Riding title thanks to Callum Miller. Miller had a score of 78 points in the long round putting him in a three-way tie for first. He then got a score of 83 points in the short round earning him the 2018 Bull Riding Champion Title. Tucker Miller also rode his bull in the long round and was present in the short round.

On the timed-event end of the arena, two Panhandle State men made the short round in the Tie-Down Roping. Trey Hall had a time of 9.1 seconds placing him third in the long round but had no luck in the short round. Luke Meier also had a nice run in the long round with a time of 9.7 seconds but also had no luck in the short round.

The Panhandle State women made a strong come back this past weekend. Caitlyn Wiswell had a great weekend. Wiswell had a time of 2.6 seconds in the long round of the Breakaway Roping, splitting third with Shay Spitz and 3.0 seconds in the short round giving her the 2018 Breakaway Champion title. Also qualified for the short round in this event was Shyanna Cahoy, who had a time of 2.9 seconds in the long round and would have been fast in the short round but unfortunately broke the barrier. Cahoy still placed fourth in the average.

The fifth title Panhandle State brought back this weekend was in the Goat Tying. Kaylee Smith made two solid runs and won the 2018 Goat Tying Champion title. Baylee Henderson was also present in the short round and placed third in the average.

Lane Giovanetti and Whitt Crozier represented Panhandle State in a tough weekend of Steer Wrestling. Giovanetti had a time of 4.5 seconds in the long round and placed fifth in the average. Crozier had a time of 4.7 seconds in the long round but had no such luck in the short round.

Three teams made the short round in the Team Roping. Bridget Merrigan and Zane Grisby came back in fifth while Caitlyn Wiswell and Sam Goings came back in the tenth hole. Both teams missed in the short round. Tanner White and Luke Meier had a time of 7.0 seconds placing them third in the long round and proceeded to win third in the short round also, which put them third in the average.

Panhandle State coaches were very proud of the hard working team this weekend and are excited for next weekend’s rodeo. The team is eager to keep the winning tradition alive more than ever!

Courtesy of OPSU