April 11, 2016
The Mesalands Community College Rodeo Team recently competed at the Navajo Technical College rodeo in Window Rock, AZ. Both the Men’s and Women’s Teams took fourth and clinched the team roping championship title and the goat tying championship title.
Sophomore Kyle Jurney (header) from Eunice, NM and sophomore Wasey Carviso (heeler) won the team roping championship title at Window Rock. They had a time of 7.1 seconds on their first steer and a time of 7.9 seconds on their second. Jurney also placed in the tie down roping event. He was 6th in the short round and ended the rodeo seventh in the average.
“Kyle and Wasey roped really well and won the rodeo by a pretty good margin, so it was exciting to see them do that. It’s taken them a little while to get to this point, but we can expect similar results from them during our last two rodeos,” said Tim Abbott, Mesalands Intercollege Rodeo Coach. “Fortunately, this has moved Kyle into a legitimate contention for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR). Anytime you earn 170 points out of a possible 180 points at a single rodeo, your standings change fairly quickly.”
Jurney and Carviso are currently 5th in the Grand Canyon Region in team roping with a total of 258 points. The top three competitors in each event will qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo.
Representing the Women’s Team was sophomore Arianna Assini from Oracle, AZ. She won the goat tying championship title by six tenths of a second. She had a run of 7.2 on her first goat and a run of 7.4 on her second. Coach Abbott said Assini has had a few struggles this year, but has really been putting it all together for some great performances towards the end of the season, where it matters the most.
Assini is currently seventh in the region in goat tying .
Coach Abbott also mentioned sophomore Kasey Baker from Cottonwood, CA that has been competing in bull riding for the Mesalands Rodeo Team, for the past two years. However, at the Navajo Technical College rodeo, Baker competed in bareback riding for the first time. He had a time of 7.0 seconds on his first horse and a time of 7.2 seconds on his second. Baker will compete in bareback riding in the remaining two rodeos of the season.
“That’s probably the toughest physical event in college rodeo, as far as it being physically tough on your body,” Coach Abbott said. “Kasey is picking it up fast and I think there is a legitimate possibility that he will be competing in bareback riding at the college finals.”
Also, sophomore Chace Valdez from Estancia, NM qualified for the short round in steer wrestling and finished seventh in the long round. Sophomore Justin Stegall from Morristown, AZ made the short round in the tie down roping event at Window Rock.
The Mesalands Rodeo Team will host the Grand Canyon Region Intercollegiate Spring Rodeo,
April 22-23, 2016 at the Quay County Rodeo Arena. For more information, visit: www.mesalands.edu/springrodeo.
