SWOSU Sports
Doug Self, Sports Information Director
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Cowboys and cowgirls from around the Central Plains Region descended upon Weatherford and the BOP Ram Rodeo Grounds this past weekend for the 45th Annual SWOSU Rodeo. The home team had several strong performances and came away with a third-place finish for the Women’s team while the Men’s team claimed sixth place.
SWOSU put six cowgirls in the short round on the strength of long round wins from Ricki Konze in Breakaway and Paige Wiseman in Barrel Racing. Wiseman went on to place third in the average of Barrel Racing, one spot ahead of Rachel Pozzi, who was fourth in the long round and average for the Dawgs. Konze and Kenzie Huffman had a strong start in Breakaway, but neither athlete was able to secure a time in the short round or place in the average. Huffman was fifth in the average of Goat Tying with times of 8.7 and 8.3 seconds, which also placed her fifth in each round.
Sloan Smith led the Bulldog Men’s team with a fourth-place finish in Tie Down roping on times of 10.3 and 10.9 seconds in the two rounds. Alex Phelps entered the short round of Steer Wrestling in a share of eighth place, but moved up to fifth in the average after winning the short go by a wide margin with an extremely fast run of 4.0 seconds on Saturday night. Will Gaillard took ninth in the average of Steer Wrestling, largely in part to his 6.5-second run in the long round. Nick Shenold was 68 points in the long round of Saddle Bronc, but did not a qualified ride on Saturday night to factor into the average.
SWOSU Rodeo now has a week off before returning to action on April 21-23 at the Fort Hays State Rodeo in Hays, Kan.
45th Annual SWOSU NIRA Rodeo
April 6-8, 2017
Weatherford, Okla. (BOP Ram Rodeo Grounds)
Women’s Team
- Southeastern Okla., 440
- Panhandle State, 251.6
- Southwestern Okla., 171.6
- Northwestern Okla., 145
Men’s Team
- Panhandle State, 855
- Southeastern Okla., 445
- Fort Hays State, 320
- Fort Scott CC, 275
- Western Okla., 255
- Southwestern Okla., 230
| Breakaway | Long Round | Short Round | Average |
| Ricki Konze | 2.5 sec, 1/2 | NT | |
| Kenzie Huffman | 3.2 sec, 6/7 | NT | |
| Goat Tying | |||
| Kenzie Huffman | 8.7 sec, 5th | 8.3 sec, 5th | 5th |
| Mikayla Harrison | 8.8 sec, 6/7/8 | NT | |
| Barrel Racing | |||
| Paige Wiseman | 17.46 sec, 1st | 18.13 sec, 9/10 | 3rd |
| Rachel Pozzi | 17.65 sec, 4th | 18.0 sec, 7/8 | 4th |
| Tie Down | |||
| Sloan Smith | 10.3 sec, 5th | 10.9 sec, 3rd | 4th |
| Steer Wrestling | |||
| Alex Phelps | 8.9 sec, 8/9 | 4.0 sec, 1st | 5th |
| Will Gaillard | 6.5 sec, 4th | 26.2 sec, 9th | 9th |
| Saddle Bronc | |||
| Nick Shenold | 68 pts, 4th | – |