MARSHALL, Mo. – The Northwest rodeo team traveled more than eight hours for the first event of the 2016-17 season to compete in the Missouri Valley College Viking Rodeo Sept. 22-24.

The men's team finished sixth out of eight teams with 125 points, while the women did not place.

Northwest got off to a rough start on the women's side, with Klarissa Neff's horse coming out of the roping box late on her breakaway calf and missing it, while Lauren Aker and Kelsey Phillips had bad luck in the barrel racing due to hitting the second barrel.

But the team didn't return home empty handed.

Sophomores John Mark Johnson and Alex Lockhart finished fourth and fifth in the bareback riding competition, giving Northwest a total of 125 points. Johnson covered both horses with good scores and earned the team the majority of the points. 

"My rides at MVC were good," Johnson said. "But I know what I want to work on to bring home a top win this coming weekend at West Alabama." 

Northwest will return to action Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Livingston, Ala., for an event hosted by UWA.