The East Texas A&M Rodeo Team had two individual event winners at its 6th annual home rodeo at the Hopkins County Civic Center in Sulphur Springs, Texas on January 31 and February 1.
Trace Harris and Jill White took the top spot in the Steer Wrestling and Breakaway Roping events, respectively. Harris’ time of 9.5 seconds put him just 0.2 seconds ahead of the next finisher. This was Harris’ third event win of the season. White finished with a best time of 4.3, putting her 0.7 seconds ahead of second place. The win was White’s second of the season.
In the team standings, the East Texas A&M men’s team finished 7th, while the women’s team was scored in 8th. Other student-athletes who placed in their events include Cash Robb (5th, Steer Wrestling), Oceane Veilleux (6th, Barrel Racing), and Chancey Wright (6th, Breakaway Roping).
The Lions now look to finish the rest of the season strong to secure a spot in the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), scheduled for June 15-21 in Casper, Wyo. The top two teams and the top two ranked riders in every individual event in each region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) standings qualify for the big show.
Following last weekend’s rodeo, the women’s team and four Lions currently sit in a CNFR qualifying position in the standings as they are now. Harris and White currently lead the NIRA Southern Region standings for Steer Wrestling and Breakaway Roping, while Justin Freeman and Veilleux sit in second place for Team Roping and Barrel Racing, respectively.
The Lions are next in action at the Texas A&M University Rodeo in Bryan, Texas on February 28 and March 1.
Article source and photo credit: Ryan Scott, tamuc.edu/news/
