LIVINGSTON, AL – Both the men's and women's rodeo teams from Northwest Mississippi Community College made strides in the second rodeo of the season, hosted by the University of West Alabama over the weekend.

The Ranger men picked up 260 team points, keeping them in third place in the region standings while the women surged from eighth to a tie for fourth with an outstanding individual performance from Raegan Chance who picked up all 170 team points for the Ranger women.

"It's been going good," Head Rodeo Coach Will Lummis said after the weekend. "We have to get a few things ironed out. I feel like as a whole we are doing really good in single events, but the multiple event guys and girls is ultimately where team points come from. When we start making the short round in multiple events we can really start getting after and chasing some of those bigger universities."

Chance and her barrel horse were the brightest starts for the Rangers, taking the top spot in the long go with the only time under 17 seconds in the round, completing the pattern in 16.98 seconds to earn 60 points in the region standings. The duo showed consistency in the short go, finishing in second for the go with a time of 17.06, just three hundredths of a second behind the top time.

That gave Chance the win in the average, picking up 170 total points, giving her 190 this season in the event. It puts the Ranger freshman in the top spot of the Ozark Region standings after two rodeos with a 70-point advantage over the three-way tie for second place.

"It's everything we worked for, being as fast as we can be, so I'd say it's all of our goals coming true," Chance said of the strong start to the season. "I didn't know if my mare could really compete in college so with her proving that she can run some of the fastest times and not really be beat all weekend it proves that we can compete and hopefully make the finals."

Chance wasn't the only champion for the Rangers. Sophomore Brayden Mahon took home the title in steer wrestling, picking up 140 points with a time of 10.9 seconds on two catches.

Mahon was second in the long go with a time of 5.1 seconds and stayed consistent with a catch on his second steer in 5.8 seconds. The top time from the long go missed his second steer and the fasted times in the short go all came from the back of the pack giving the sophomore from New York his first rodeo win of his collegiate career. It also put Mahon into fourth in the region standings, just 30 points out of third.

"I just want to play Mr. Consistent making good runs," Mahon said. "My horse was working good all week like he normally does so I just want to keep the ball rolling moving forward and just keep on getting points."

Two other Rangers made it back to the short go including Will Collier who was the last cowboy to make it back with a time of 7.4 but he wowed the crowd with a 4.6 on his second steer for the second fastest time of the go, and his average time of 12.0 was fourth best in the standings. Collier picked up 80 points overall and stayed in second place in the region, just ten points away from the top spot.

The Rangers have a strong crew in steer wrestling and Mahon said that should help make them very competitive in that event all year long.

"I like to say there is a new best guy every day. You aren't going to be 100 percent in the practice pen. Having guys like Coach Lummis or Will Collier in the practice pen that you get compete against and make you better makes it really competitive and fun at the same time."

That matches with the idea's that Lummis is working to instill in his team, focusing more on the mental aspects of rodeo than the physical.

"Most of rodeo is mental anyways," Lummis said. "If you can build winners in the mind, you can build winners outside of the mind, and the hardest thing to do is build winners in the mind and get them to understand they are here for a reason. They were successful before this, and college rodeo is no different. You still have to show up and compete every time and that's how you make winners."

Kent Jordan was the third Ranger to make it back in bulldogging, finishing in fifth in the long go after a run of 5.9 seconds. He had a bit of trouble on his second steer, posting a time of 7.2, just finishing outside of the top six in the short go, but he did finish in a tie for sixth in the average to gain five more points. It was the first points he has earned this season putting him in 12^th in the Ozark Region.

Dakota Smith continued to shine in the bull riding where he was one of only two riders to finish an eight second ride in the first round, picking up 50 points for himself and the team in the go. Both failed to stay on in the final performance giving Smith 100 points for the rodeo. Smith is comfortably in the top of the Ozark standings with an 80-point advantage over second place. He is the only rider who has picked up points in both rodeos so far.

One other Ranger found some points with Colbran Ingram and his partner Teagan Mast from Murray State University finishing with the fastest time in the long go in team roping where their 6.3 earned the duo 60 points. They would have had the fastest time of the short go as well, but they broke the barrier and a 15.2 was the result which dropped their time to sixth in the go. That still earned them a 21.5 in the average and kept them in the top six for 80 points in the rodeo.

Ingram picked up his first points as a header for the season and sits in seventh place in the region standings.

The Rangers have the weekend off as they get ready for a long road trip next week, traveling to Southern Arkansas University for the SAU Rodeo in Magnolia from October 9^th through the 11^th. More information on the Rangers full schedule can be found at nwccrangers.com or by following Ranger social media accounts.