STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University’s rodeo teams continued the spring portion of the season with dominating wins at the Ranger College Rodeo in Sweetwater over the weekend.
The defending national champion men, led by first-place finishes from saddle bronc rider Montgomery Parsons and bareback rider Roedy Farrell, amassed 490 points to top runner-up South Plains College’s 320.
Hadley Tidwell’s first in barrel racing paced the Tarleton State women in their 275-point performance.
Farrell turned in a two-ride 163.5-point tally including rides of 82 in the long go and 81.5 in the finals. Gus Gaillard took second in bareback riding with his 75-80-155, Taylor Carmody posted rides of 69 and 73 for a fifth-place 142, and Devon Moore’s seventh-place 138 came on rides of 72 and 66 points.
Parsons tied for the top score in the bareback riding championship finals Saturday with his 80-point ride. His 78 in the preliminary go-round gave him an event-best 158. Cauy Masters’ 74-76.5-150.5 was fifth and Waitley Sharon finished eighth with a 149 on rides of 77 and 72.
Riggen Hughes added a second-place 68-71-139 in bull riding and Brayden Roe took third in tie-down roping with a two-run 18.4, which included a long-go best 8.3 time.
Wyatt Crandall and his South Plains partner turned in an 11.5 time on team roping runs of 5.8 and 5.7 seconds for runner-up honors and Garrett Roffino and Conner Callihan were eighth in the event with their 6.2-15.3-21.5.
Tidwell’s 35.17 total featured a first-round best 17.45 and a 17.72 in the barrel racing finals. Teammate Marcela Fuentes was fourth in the event with her 17.97-17.89-35.86.
Tarleton State cowgirls Rylee Abel, Keni Labrum and Shyanne Bauerle captured three of the top 10 slots among goat tyers at Sweetwater. Abel posted the lowest first-round time of 6.5 seconds on her way to a second-place 13.3, Labrum’s 6.9-7.2-14.1 was good for fifth and Bauerle took sixth with her 7.0-7.4-14.4.
Both Tarleton State teams are atop the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association leaderboards with three stops remaining.
They will see their next action in the April 3-5 Western Texas College Rodeo in Snyder.
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.