SIKESTON, Mo. – Northwest freshmen
Cade Cowan and
Marshall Merchant provided the bulk of the highlights last weekend for the Northwest rodeo program at Three Rivers College.
Cowan and his partner, Clay Tilley (UT Martin), finished with a catch time of 7.7 seconds on Thursday. That time landed the duo in third place for the first round and a chance to come back in the short-go championship round, where they received a time of 9.4 with a five second penalty that put their time in at 14.4, ultimately finishing them at sixth place.
Other team roping competitors included Brennan and
Brandon Tomlinson, who failed to place in the Saturday finals, despite finishing with a catch time of 10.1 on Thursday night.
Austin Davis and
Klarissa Neff also competed but did not place.
Despite not placing in the Thursday night competition, freshman
Marshall Merchant covered with a 67-point ride that put him in a tie for fifth place.
Four Rangers also competed in barrel racing on Friday morning and later that night.
Hope Collins ran a clean run at 18.48, while
Mallory Williamson and
Allison Cratin finished with 17.94 and 19.42 times, respectively.
Makayla Jordan's time of 17.33 put her in 11th place, one spot out of the top 10.
Overall, the men's team finished in sixth place with 75 team points and remains in fifth place within the Ozark Region standings, fielding 330 total points. Despite not placing in last weekend's event, the Northwest women remain in the Top 10 of the Ozark standings, checking in at No. 10 with 73.33 points.
"I was proud of all of our team members and their effort this past weekend," said rodeo coach Shelli Benton. "It was another draw of luck with the rain and cold conditions of the outside arena, but we made it work. I saw the greatest improvement in Makayla Jordan and her horse making it extremely close to the short-go in barrel racing. We have a few weeks off to focus and get ready for Southern Arkansas in November."
Northwest will compete at the Southern Arkansas event on Nov. 1-3 in Magnolia, Ark.
