September 17, 2018

Michael Lucero wins team roping reserve championship title at first rodeo.

Last weekend, the Mesalands Community College Rodeo Team competed in their first rodeo competition of the 2018-19 season at Diné College in Tsaile, AZ. The Men’s Team won the team roping reserve championship title. Both the Men’s and Women’s Team finished fourth in the average.

Team roper Michael Lucero from Jemez Springs, NM, started the season strong. He took second place in the average and clinched the team roping reserve championship title with Braiden Washburn, who competes for New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM.

Bareback rider A.J. Kee from Farmington, MO was third place in the average.

The Women’s Team also had a strong showing at the rodeo. Nearly every competitor had a qualified run in each event. In the goat tying event, Delaney Gonzales, from Grants, NM, took sixth place in the short round.

“For the first rodeo, our Rodeo Team performed pretty well,” Matt Hughes, Intercollegiate Rodeo Coach and Faculty Member at Mesalands. “We do have a few things that we need to clean up, but with two weeks until the next rodeo, we have plenty of time to do that.”

Coach Hughes also said he had high hopes for the next rodeo competitions at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM on September 27 and at Cochise College in Douglas, AZ on
September 28.

For the 2018-2019 season, the Mesalands Rodeo Team has student athletes from all over the country, including: AZ, CA, MO, NM, OR, PA, WY, and TX.