April 14, 2014
Sophomore Edmiles Harvey of Tsalini Springs, AZ, is the first member of the Mesalands Community College Rodeo Team to clinch his ticket to the College National Finals Rodeo, June 15-21, 2014.
The Mesalands Community College’s Rodeo Team recently had their Navajo Technical University Rodeo in Window Rock, AZ. The Men’s Team brought home a championship title in team roping and took third place with 385 points. The Men’s Team also secured their first qualifier for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in June.
Sophomore Edmiles Harvey of Tsalini Springs, AZ, is the first member of the Mesalands Rodeo Team to clinch his ticket to the CNFR. He currently has a 460-point lead over the fourth place cowboy and with only 325 points available, Harvey will definitely be competing at the college finals. He is still working on securing the reserve regional title in this event.
“It’s a great accomplishment. Last year I didn’t compete as well as I wanted to, but this year I just stayed consistent,” Harvey said. “I just want to pursue my dreams and goals of becoming a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) bareback rider. Knowing that I’m going to the college national finals will greatly benefit me in the future.”
Harvey stated that his family attended the Navajo Technical University Rodeo. At the rodeo, Harvey won third in the long round, third in the short round, and finished third in the average with 131 points in bareback riding at the rodeo.
“Window Rock was a solid rodeo for us,” said Tim Abbott, Interim Intercollegiate Rodeo Coach at Mesalands. “We also have several student athletes that are qualifying at this point to compete at the college finals.”
In tie-down roping, sophomore Morgan McVay of Sparks, NV won third in the long round and took eighth in the average with a time of 26.3 seconds. Sophomore Hayden Moore of Clovis, NM, won fourth in the long round in tie-down roping. Moore also won third in the short round and finished fifth in the average in 22.6 seconds.
Moore made the short round in all three of his events, tie-down roping, team roping, and in steer wrestling. His run in the steer wrestling event did not go as expected and he finished the average in sixth place with a time of 16.4 seconds. However, Moore and Rusty Van Solen (header) from New Mexico State University, electrified the team roping event and won the average with a time of 16.8 seconds. Moore also placed third in the average in the Men’s All-Around event with 225 points. Moore is fighting for his ticket to the CNFR and after his performance at the Navajo Technical University Rodeo, he has a legitimate chance to win that golden ticket.
Also in team roping, sophomore Betty Jo Pack (header) of Aztec, NM took seventh in the average with fellow teammate sophomore Scott Day (heeler) of Vernon, British Columbia. Sophomore Mike McGinn (header) of Haines, OR and teammate Jacob Rounds (heeler) of Brooklyn, NY finished the average in eighth place in the team roping event.
The Mesalands Rodeo Team will compete in their last two rodeos of the season at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, April 25-27, 2014.
