FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — A pair of first-place finishes led the charge as Tarleton State University’s rodeo team ended the 2020-21 season at home over the weekend.
Steer wrestler Preston Pederson and breakaway roper Sarah Angelone took top honors at the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwestern Regional at Lone Star Arena in Stephenville.
Sarah finished the season as NIRA regional champion, leading six Tarleton riders and ropers who earned spots in the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., in June.
Preston posted a first-round 4.7 to place eighth in the long go and took the event crown with a 4.1 in the championship finals.
Sarah’s 2.5-second clocking in the short round gave her a two-head 5.1 to earn first place after securing a slot in the finals with a fifth-place 2.6 in the preliminaries.
The Tarleton men’s team accumulated a fourth-place 275 points. Western Texas College was first with 550 points, 30 points better than runner-up Sul Ross State University.
The women’s squad finished sixth in the weekend rodeo. Texas Tech’s 220 points was best among the women, followed by Vernon College’s 195.
Other standouts for the Texans included Jake Vance and Jake Barnes, who took fourth and 10th in saddle bronc riding. Barnes will be in Casper in June, his second trip to the CNFR, by virtue of his third-place finish in the region.
Kyler Dick was seventh among steer wrestlers in the regular-season finale, Bodee Lammers posted a two-head 151 for fifth in saddle bronc riding, and T.J. Allen and Riley Wakefield roped two head in 13.1 seconds for a ninth-place tie in team roping.
Alex Cawthon was second in goat tying, posting rounds of 7.2 and 7.3, and Emily McDeavitt posted a 17.0 to tie for sixth in the event.
Rickie Engesser took fourth in the Tarleton rodeo breakaway roping, notching runs of 2.7 and 3.0 seconds. She qualified for a trip to Casper in goat tying.
Barrel racers Conner Madison and Maddy Dickens were sixth and eighth place, respectively, in Stephenville.
Other CNFR representatives for Tarleton are region bull riding champion Cullen Tefler; Maddy Deerman, reserve champion breakaway roper; and Walt Arnold, reserve champion steer wrestler.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.