Rustlers kick up dust on home grounds

Nine cowboys and cowgirls for the CWC Rustlers made it to the final round at their home rodeo. The men's team placed second and bumped up to fourth in the NIRA Central Rocky Mountain region standings.

Sophomore Kassie Kautzman placed first at the Rustler Roundup Rodeo in the breakaway roping. She was quick on the rope with 2.6 seconds in the long go-round and 2.5 second.

"Having Kassie make the short round and winning the rodeo was no surprise," said Drew Schrock, rodeo coach. "She's made a few minor mistakes this season but she's been to practice to work on those and it showed at this rodeo. She drew two great calves and scored really well. I'm really happy for her and look forward to seeing her place at more rodeos."

Also for the women's team Frankie Orahood placed ninth overall in the goat tying. In the long go-round 8.6 seconds and 9.9 in the short go-round.

Three cowboys placed in the top ten for the steer wrestling with sophomore Brady Thurston taking first. He timed 5.5 seconds in the long go-round and came back in the final round with an improving time of 5.1 seconds. Teammate Teigen Finnerty wasn't far behind him; placing second overall. Finnerty had a time of 6.3 in the long go-round and was quick with his steer in the final round with 5.1 seconds.

"This is Brady's fourth straight rodeo making it in the short round," Schrock said. "He gives so much at practice and at each rodeo that it's great to see him come back in the final rounds. When you have a great cowboy and great competitor like Brady you can't help but be excited for his future. Teigen's also been a hard working competitor; he drew a tough steer in the short round but did outstanding job. It's exciting to see."

Sophomore Dalton Burgener, who took first at the last rodeo, placed well in the long go-round with a time of 6.0 seconds but had a tough short go-round with an ending time of 9.0 seconds. He placed ninth overall. Burgener however is still placed number one in the region with Finnerty now in second.  

"Seeing Dalton place three weekends in a row really helps boost the team's spirits," Schrock said. "He's using everything he's got, working hard and we will continue to see him succeed at these rodeos."

The Choate brothers and team roping partners, Klint and Kyle placed fourth with a time of 7.1 seconds in the long go-round. They too had a tough short go-round with a time of 22.3 seconds.

In the tie down roping Kyle Choate had a time of 11.9 seconds in the long go-round and a little longer time in the short go-round with 18.5 seconds putting him in sixth. Taylor Davidson placed eighth overall with a time of 11.7 seconds in the long go-round and a no time in the short go-round.

They've been creeping their way up the board, Schrock said. "It's fun to see their hard work pay off for them."

Thurston is still sitting third in the region for the saddle bronc riding even though he didn't place at his home rodeo. The Choate brothers are now in fourth place in the region for team roping and Kautzman has moved her position in the breakaway to sixth in the region.

Overall the men's team has moved up the leader board to fourth. Sheridan College is taking the lead followed by Chadron State College and Gillette College.

"The women's team need to continue to believe that they can place at each rodeo, I have faith that they will continue to improve," Schrock said. "The men's team get so excited about every rodeo and at practice. They work so well in helping each other that it really helps each other's confidence. The team will be able to practice all year and with this great group of cowboys I know that we will continue to see great results."

This year 2M Construction and B&B Aggregate donated their time and efforts to prepare the arena for the Rustler Roundup Rodeo.

"We had a great home rodeo and we had such a great support group from our sponsors and volunteers," Schrock said. "They help our rodeo be successful and we look forward to working with them in the future."

The Rustlers will travel to Cheyenne, Wyoming October 14-16. This is their last rodeo of the season and is hosted by Laramie County Community College.