T-Bird Rodeo Sends 3 Athletes to the Short Round in Big Spring
The NMJC men's rodeo team had their best performance of the season this week at the Howard College Rodeo.
Jake Dunham was the top performer for the T-Birds in the bull riding. Dunham finished second in average with an 80.5 in the long round and a 78.5 in the short round. The Tuscon, Ariz. native added 120 points to the team total with his performance Saturday night.
"Jake made a nice ride in the long round," men's rodeo head coach Stewy Kinley said. "The bull he had wasn't super smooth, but Jake handled him just fine. His short round ride started outstanding. He was making it look it easy and that bull decided to jump out of it for the last few seconds or he would have won the rodeo. Jake's riding really well right now and his mental game is on point. We're looking for big things from him this weekend at Tarleton and on into the summer as well."
Tanner Lockie made the short round after coming in at 10th place in the long round with a time of 10.4 seconds. Lockie was fortunate to finish third in the short round with a time of 13.3 seconds following seven no times by the other competitors in the event. The Balgonie, SK Canada native placed third in average to earn 80 points.
"Tanner did a good job getting his calves roped and tied down," Kinley said. "His short round calf wasn't as good and he got him tied down a little farther down the pen but it held for 3rd in the average. You just never know if things are going to get tough or fall apart. It fell apart but he did his job and they rewarded him for it. It was good to see Tanner get the monkey off his back."
The T-Birds are starting to get into a groove at the right time.
"It was very important to get some more guys back to the short round. It was bound to get better at some point this year so I'm glad it worked out. It was even more encouraging that they did their jobs in the short round too."
The T-Birds enter their last rodeo of the season at the Tarleton Stampede in Stephenville, Texas April 11-13.
"We're hoping for our best weekend of the year," Kinley said. "There're several guys that have been doing a good job and have been just outside the short rounds and I think they'll get it done. There're some others that will break the ice as well. It'll be fun to watch."
Women's Recap
Kyla Kelly put the T-Birds on the board for the spring season with a ninth in average finish in the goat tying. Kelly was fifth in the long round with an 8.8 second finish.
The Red Deer County, AB Canada native recorded a 9.6 second finish in the short round. Kelly earned NMJC 20 points with her performance in Big Spring, Texas.
"I am very proud of Kyla. She has been coming back from an ACL reconstruction in spring of 2022 and has finally regained confidence in her knee stability – her performance shows that," head women's rodeo coach Alexa Wilcox said. "She has been in the top 20 at several of the rodeos, but they only bring 10 back. Kyla works very hard and is very talented, so I was happy to see it come together for her this past weekend."
The Thunderbirds are trying to build momentum with a strong finish next week in Stephenville, Texas at the Tarleton Stampede.
"All of the girls are eager to win, so I expect big things this weekend. Evann Segura is a double threat in both the breakaway roping and the barrel racing, but she's also entered in the team roping this weekend, which is another event she's strong in."
"Of course, Kyla Kelly is coming off a strong performance in Big Spring and I fully anticipate that to continue in Stephenville. Kyla is also a strong competitor in the breakaway, barrels, and the team roping – anything is possible if she has a little luck."
"Freshmen Pyper Lillico and Codi Reed have both been barely out of short round several times in the barrel racing and goat tying respectively. They both have the talent and have been putting in the practice time to break through this weekend. Additionally, sophomores Taiga Thorsteinsson and Taci Flinn are always competitive but have struggled lately. I look for them to turn things around this weekend and perform well."
The T-Birds may not have had the success they wanted in 2023-24, but big things are coming in Year 2 with Coach Wilcox.
"This has been a fun first year as Head Women's Rodeo Coach," Wilcox said. "I've learned a lot and enjoyed the time with this team. I have a lot of new ideas on ways to improve for next year, and am looking forward to the recruits we have coming in. That being said, we can expect a much larger women's team for 2024-2025 and several more multiple-event athletes."
The T-Birds final rodeo of the season will be at the Tarleton Stampede in Stephenville, Texas April 11-13.