NMJC Rodeo Roundup at ENMU, SRSU, and Clarendon
The New Mexico Junior College Rodeo team has competed in three rodeos to date in the fall semester.
Head coach Stewy Kinley is entering his sixth season as the rodeo coach for the Thunderbirds. Kinley is joined by first-year assistant Alexa Wilcox.
Eastern New Mexico University Rodeo
The first rodeo of the 2022-23 season was hosted at Eastern New Mexico University. The Thunderbirds were co-hosts with the Greyhounds.
On the men's side, the T-Birds were led by Caleb Lake, who won 5th in the average of the Steer Wrestling. For the women's side, the T-Birds were led by Ashlyn Goven, who won 7th Place Average in Barrel Racing
"We had a great first showing at our first rodeo," Kinley said. "Our highlight was freshman Caleb Lake winning 5th in the steer wrestling. Another standout performance was freshman Ashlyn Goven splitting 3rd and 4th in the first round of the barrel race against a tough field. A tipped barrel in the short round cost us winning that event."
"We had several athletes that barely missed the Top 10 cut to get back to the Short Round," Kinley said. "Overall, it was not a bad start in the tough Southwest Region."
Sul Ross State Rodeo
The T-Birds improved in their second rodeo at Sul Ross State. Ashlyn Goven finished 2nd Place Average in Barrel Racing, while Taiga Thorsteinsson, tied for 5th in the long round in Breakaway Roping.
Kyla Kelly and Tanner Lockie were Short Round Qualifiers in Team Roping at the event. The T-Birds also placed a Champion Bull Rider in the rodeo.
"We had a good showing at Sul Ross State rodeo," Kinley said. "We took home the win in the bull riding. Ashlyn Goven won the first round in the barrel racing and followed that up with a 3rd place Short Round run, leaving her 2nd in the average. She claimed some much needed points that put her in 2nd in the regional standings. Freshman Taiga Thorsteinsson split 5th place in the long round of the breakaway roping. Unfortunately, a no time in the short round took her out of the average."
"The team roping duo of freshman Kyla Kelly and sophomore Tanner Lockie placed 9th in the long round but took a no time in the short round," Kinley said. "We also had several other strong performances we'd hope to build on."
Clarendon Rodeo
Caleb Lake was a strong contender in the third rodeo of the year finishing 3rd in the Long Round of Steer Wrestling Short Round Qualifiers. Sophomore Stran Dunham finished tied for 9th and 10th in Short Round Qualifiers.
The T-Birds did not have their best showing at the Clarendon rodeo, but there are positives to take out of the performances from last weekend Kinley said.
"We didn't have the weekend we were looking for in Clarendon," Kinley said. "One highlight was Caleb Lake winning 3rd in the long round of the steer wrestling for some much-needed points. Unfortunately, he took a no time in the Short Round, taking him out of the average. Sophomore Stran Dunham broke the ice and made the Short Round in the tie down roping with a 9th/10th place long round finish. He didn't have the run he was looking for in the Short Round but moved up to 8th in the average."
"Tough ground conditions and tough draws kept some of our athletes from gathering points as well, but we took this week's practice to sharpen up in several areas to get back to the winner's circle. We're looking forward to fixing that in Vernon this weekend," Kinley said.
There is a lot of excitement for NMJC as the rodeo team looks toward the last two rodeos of the semester.
"After these first 3 rodeos, I think we've built a good foundation in our competition so far. We definitely have room for improvement, team wide. We'll hit our stride soon enough. Hopefully some of our T-Bird athletes that are out with injuries will be healthy soon. We have a lot of talent and we're looking forward to them honing in on it this weekend in Vernon. Ashlyn Goven remains in 2nd in the region in the barrel racing and Caleb Lake sits 10th in the steer wrestling, which are both good spots to be in. We have a lot of other T-Birds that could jump right up in the middle of the standings with a good performance this weekend."
The Thunderbirds will perform next in the Vernon College Rodeo Oct. 20-22.