Good and Bad for UW Rodeo Team at CNFR
It’s been a mixed bag of results so far for the University of Wyoming at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper through Tuesday.
Senior bull rider Jacob Smith is still in contention after two rounds. He scored 69.5 points on “Red Robin” during Sunday’s first round for seventh place as part of the opening day “Bulls, Broncs and Breakaway” event.
Smith followed that with a no-score in his second round during Monday’s slack competition. The bull “Teflon Don” got Smith off-balance and he slid off to the right. His final round comes during Wednesday night’s performance.
The good news for the senior bull rider is only one Cowboy has ridden two bulls, which leaves Smith a good shot at reaching Saturday’s finals if he can post a score in the third round.
The results have not been good for the team roping duo of Justene Hirsig and Denton Shaw. They had a “no-time” in their first round Monday during slack. Tuesday’s second run during slack saw a 6.7-second effort. Their season came to an end Tuesday night during the first of the nightly performances. Hirsig and Shaw had another miss or “no-time,” which eliminated them from advancing.
The final competitor is freshman barrel racer Kelsey Lensegrav. She knocked over a barrel in her first round Monday during slack and post a time of 19.9 seconds after the penalty. Lensegrav responded with a fast 14.7 second run Tuesday during slack. Her total time of 34.6 on two leaves her a very remote possibility of advancing.
Lensegrav has her third round during Thursday evening’s performance.
After two round of action, the Wyoming Cowgirls are in 20th place with 50 teams. The Cowboys also have 50 team points but are in a tie for 36th.
The CNFR continues with nightly performances at 7 p.m. through Friday at the Casper Events Center. The championship round is Saturday at 7 p.m. The top 12 contestants in each event are part of the finals Saturday night.