HATTIESBURG – Freshman
Cade Cowan highlighted the weekend for the Northwest rodeo program, sharing a first place finish in team roping at the season-opening event hosted by Pearl River Community College.
Northwest was one of 13 colleges to compete on the weekend and the men's team posted a fifth place finish with 155 total points. The women's team placed 10th overall and compiled 50 points, but finished within striking distance of Arkansas-Monticello and East Mississippi.
"I'm excited about this year's team," head coach
Shelli Benton said. "They showed me that they can be on point last weekend and I look forward to making some corrections during practice this week before we compete at Missouri Valley this weekend."
Cowan competed in team roping with Clay Tilley (UT Martin) during the Friday morning slack, fielding a clean run and a catch of their steer with a time of 7.6 seconds. Their performance earned them a spot in the championship short go round on Saturday night, where the two received a time of seven flat and a shared first-place finish. For the entire weekend, Cowan finished with 135 total points.
Freshman
Marshall Merchant also earned 66 points in bareback riding, finishing in fourth place overall and earning 20 points for the weekend.
Austin Davis,
Brennan Tomlinson and
Brandon Tomlinson rounded out the Ranger men competitors in team roping, but received no time.
Mallory Williamson led the way for the Ranger women, capturing first place in barrel racing on Thursday night with a 15.86 time and earning her a spot in the short go round on Saturday evening. There, she ran a 15.75 and finished in fourth, finishing the weekend with a fifth average place and 50 points earned.
Three other Lady Rangers also competed in barrel racing, including
Hope Collins (17.07),
Makayla Jordan (16.52) and
Allison Cratin (16.52).
Klarissa Neff also competed in team roping but received no time.
Northwest will resume the fall portion of its schedule this weekend at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo. Action begins on Thursday, Sept. 20 and ends Saturday night, Sept. 22.
