CASPER, Wyo. – Saturday, June 20, was a monumental day for Northwest Mississippi Community College Rodeo.  Head Coach Will Lummus sent three athletes to the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper this week and all three made it back to the Short Go on Saturday night at the Ford Wyoming Center.

Steer wrestler Will Collier was first up for the Rangers.  Collier, of Malden, Missouri, came into the night in sixth place in the standings and needed a phenomenal run to move up the leaderboard.  He knew he would need to press out of the gate to catch his steer quickly enough to make a difference.

Initially, it looked like he had done just that.  The arena announcer called out 3.6 seconds – a time that would have tied the fastest run of the week – then noted that there was a penalty for a broken barrier.  The 10-second penalty dropped the run time to 13.6 seconds.

Ultimately, the penalty only cost Collier one place on the board as each of the top four finalist managed sub-5 second runs.  The fifth placed wrestler, Damian Padilla of New Mexico State University, finished with an 8.4 second run to hold off Collier after the Ranger's penalty.

Andrew Morian of Clarendon College, the leader after three rounds, finished his run in 4.9 seconds to win the event with a total time of 17.1 seconds on four head.

Collier ends his time as a Ranger as one of the most decorated Northwest rodeo athletes in history.  He made it to Wyoming all three years as a Ranger, finishing in the top ten at the CNFR in his final two. 

Ranger rookie Raegan Chance was next up for Northwest in the barrel racing event.  Chance, of Mendenhall, entered the arena in fourth place after three runs and would need a blazing run aboard Sky to contend for the championship. 

The pair was fourth out of the gate and made their best run of the week, a clean 13.87 second time.  The rider before them, Acey Pinkston of Weatherford College, had just tipped over two barrels and effectively eliminated herself from Chance's pathway to the top. 

Chance received a little more help when the rider after her, Morgan Addison of Texas Tech University, also tipped a barrel.  All that stood between the Ranger and a championship was the leader on three, Devin Young of Texas A&M University.

Unfortunately for Chance, Young made a clean ride to finish at 55.00 seconds.  That time was just 0.72 seconds ahead of the Ranger's total after the final go.  Chance ends the year as the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association's barrel racing Reserve Champion.

Chance finished the week with 160.00 points, placing her third in the Women's Rookie of the Year standings – a fitting end to a great first year for the freshman.
 
Dakota Smith carried the Rangers' final hopes for a championship on his shoulders.  Smith entered the night in seventh place after riding one bull in his opening go.  He needed one of the strongest rides of the week to advance.

The bull rider from Kaufman, Texas, climbed aboard Grassy Butte from the Salt River Rodeo Company stock.  The five riders before him had not managed a ride, meaning Smith could not fall from seventh, but the Ranger did have a chance to vault upwards with a scored ride.  

The Ranger brought the sold-out crowd to their feet on his final ride in Casper.  Once clear of the bull, Smith pumped his fists into the air as the crowd erupted in applause.  The 82.75-point ride was enough to move Smith into second place on two bulls.

The top six bull riders were left to climb their way back up the leaderboard.  Two of the six were unable to cover their final bull.  Each of the other four, however, managed one more ride on the night.  As a result, Smith finished the CNFR as the fifth best bull rider in the nation.

Hayden Welsh, of Odessa College, rode his final bull to a score of 88.25 to finish with a total of 251.75 on three rides for the championship. 

Smith, a two-time CNFR qualifier, made the top ten at college rodeo's biggest event in both years as a Ranger. 

The two Ranger men garnered a total of 200.0 points on the week, placing Northwest in twentieth place as a team.

Chance, the lone Ranger woman collecting points, managed to place the Northwest team in eighth overall with her 160.0 points.

Click here for CNFR 2026 final standings.

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