CASPER, Wyo. - Two Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers took to college rodeo's biggest stage on Monday morning in Casper.  Raegan Chance made her debut with a strong time of 14.01 seconds in her first go in barrels. That score is good enough to place her in the top eight after Go 1.  Will Collier, returning for his third trip, caught his first steer in 8.2 seconds.  He will have a little work to do to make it to Saturday's Short Go, but being on the board after Go 1 is a big first step.

Chance hit the arena floor early atop Sky as the second rider of the morning. The freshman from Mendenhall is Northwest's first entry in the barrels at the College National Finals Rodeo since Northwest Hall of Famer Kindyl Scruggs qualified in 2013. 

When asked what that meant to her, Chance replied "It was a huge accomplishment making it out here. I've always wanted to go and compete against this caliber of horses. I hoped that my horse could compete, and she could. She pulled through for me all year, and so now we're able to give it our best shot at the actual finals.

Chance and Sky have competed together for four years.  That teamwork brought two high school barrel racing state championships and, now, a trip to Casper to compete against the best in the nation.  

That trip was not always a certainty, though.  Chance started the fall semester with a bang, taking 1st in September in just her second college rodeo at the University of West Alabama.  She produced mixed results for several months in the middle of the season after that. 

"We did really good in the first semester and then kind of fell off a little bit. It just wasn't our time, really. So I knew that we had a shot and could compete. I knew we had to just keep giving it our all.  if God wanted us out here, He'd put us out here and give us the opportunity," Chance said about that time.

The trip out west was still not guaranteed until the final regular season rodeo in Senatobia.  Chance picked up a second-place finish the week before at Arkansas Tech to bring her within striking distance. She needed a strong finish at the Ranger Rodeo to move into a spot in the top three in the Ozark Region.

She got that strong finish with two electric rides to vault her into second place and a guaranteed bid to Wyoming.  "I just kept pushing-doing the same thing, working as hard as I could, hoping it was God's timing and it was.  All we were was confident and just went out there and let the cards fall where they fell," she reflected.

With her first ride out of the way, Chance allowed herself to breathe a little easier.  "I have been nervous for the past few days-not wanting to do anything. It was great just getting out there and knowing that she (Sky) can go out there and run with them. She did perfect; She didn't spook. She turned all three barrels amazing. I'm super proud of her and it's just a relief. Now we just get to have fun!"

In contrast to Chance, Collier is a veteran of college rodeo.  The third-year Ranger from Malden, Missouri, made a trip to Wyoming in each of his first two years.  He won the Ozark Region as a freshman in 2023-24, but had a run of bad luck at the CNFR and finished 38th. 

He took that experience, remained steady throughout his second year, and garnered another invite after a second-place finish in the region in 2024-25.  He opened the 2025 CNFR on a blistering pace, leading after each of the three rounds.  Unfortunately, Collier was unable to catch his steer in the Short Go.  He still finished the CNFR in 9th place-not as high as he had hoped, but the highest for any Ranger steer wrestler ever.

After deciding to remain at Northwest for his third year, Collier had a steady, but not spectacular, season in 2025-26.  He managed six top-5 finishes in the 10 weekends-a great year by normal standards, but Will Collier is anything but normal.  Standing at 6'7", humble, and impeccably well-mannered, Collier is more storybook character than college athlete.  

The team leader needed a storybook ending to his final regular season at Northwest to gain a third trip to Casper.  Going into the final weekend in April, Collier needed a big score at the Ranger Rodeo to move into a top three spot.  He got all that he needed when he caught his steer in the Short Go with a 4.7 second time, moving into second place in the final region standings to ensure one more trip for the Ranger.

Collier caught his first steer of the week here in Wyoming with a time of 8.2 seconds. He was noticeably disappointed with the time, which places him in 21st after Go 1 at the CNFR.  He will have to do a little work to climb steadily into the Short Go this week, but don't bet against him.  The big man has proven over and over that he can perform when the lights come on.

All three Ranger athletes will be busy on Tuesday in Casper.  Both Collier and bull rider Dakota Smith will ride in the slack for their second go with their final go coming in the evening's performance round, broadcast live on ESPN+.  Chance will have her second shot at the barrels during the slack portion as well.

You can keep up with Ranger Rodeo on social media and nwccrangers.com.  You can see full CNFR results here.