Casper, Wyo. - Tuesday proved to be a big day for Ranger Rodeo at the College National Finals Rodeo.  All three contestants were scheduled for at least one go on the day, and two needed to have very big days in order to maintain a shot at national titles in their respective events.  The three athletes delivered all that, and more, when it was all said and done.

Will Collier, fresh off of his Go 1 steer wrestling win at the Ford Wyoming Center, put down another strong time on Tuesday morning to maintain the overall lead after Go 2.  Collier's time of 5.0 was good enough for eighth place in the round and gives him an 0.8 second lead over Owen Redfeairn of Cal Poly heading into Go 3.  Collier will look to maintain that lead when he competes again on Thursday night in the performance round.

Collier's steer wrestling teammate, Christian Cagle, bounced back nicely from a no score in Go 1.  "Yesterday we had a steer...he was a little fresher and hadn't had a whole lot of runs on him.  So we went at the barrier and did the best we could and when we caught it just kind of stopped and sucked me under the horns and happened to get away from me," Cagle reflected.

Cagle looked more like the 2024-25 Ozark Region Champion when he scored a 6.3 on his Go 2 run during the Tuesday slack portion in Casper.  "Going into today, I really emphasized getting all of my weight on that steer, slowing down, and making sure I caught the head tight-do my job-and it happened to work out."

The steer wrestler built on the momentum from his afternoon go during the Tuesday night performance round.  His 4.9 second run was the third highest time of the night, bringing his average to 11.2 on two head.  That places him in 7th place overall in the average with three Go 3 performance rounds remaining-Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night. Now, all the bulldogger can do is wait and hope his average on two will get him into the Short Go.  

Ranger Bull Rider Dakota Smith was down to his last opportunity on Tuesday night.  The freshman drew a bull out of the Brookman Rodeo stock, Splitten Tens, and knew he needed a strong ride after no scores in Go 1 and Go 2.  "When I first came in, I tried to get a new rope.  I tried it on the first two and it just wasn't working, so I went back to the old one today and it worked out a little better," Smith said about his third go. 

Smith watched five of the six riders before him fail to score on some tough stock.  "I couldn't let them falling off hurt me.  I had to keep my mind straight."  When asked about his ride on Tuesday night, the Ozark Region champion stated "When I left the chute, I really didn't know what was going to happen...I had my outside knot the whole time...he just kept pulling me back around.  I just kind of let the bull pack me around." 

Splitten Tens did pull, and Smith held on tight.  Nearly every fan in the Ford Wyoming Center was standing and cheering for the rider when all was said and done.  The Ranger rider was awarded a score of 83.5, good enough to be tops on the night and the second highest score awarded this week.  The score was good enough to vault Smith into second place in the average after three bulls.  Now, he too must play the waiting game.

At the end of the day, Ranger Rodeo had one of it's biggest days ever on the biggest stage.

Collier's 90.0 points placed Ranger Rodeo in 21st as a team after Go 2. Tarleton State leads the College National Finals Rodeo team standings after two rounds with 395.0 points, followed by New Mexico State with 220.0, and Central Wyoming College at 205.0.

Cagle contributed 60.0 points after his third go and Smith's ride added another 80.0 to the team total.  Both scores should help Northwest climb in the standings.

Collier's Thursday night performance round can be viewed live on ESPN3 at 8:00 P.M. Central.

Full CNFR results will be posted daily here.