FOUR COWBOYS HEAD TO CNFR

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Following strong individual campaigns, four Trapper cowboys will be heading to Casper to compete in the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) this next week.

Paden Woolstenhulme finished in second place in the All-Around with 1,434.50 points for the Trappers in the Big Sky Region. 

Woolstenhulme will also be competing in the open team roping with Hagen Wallace, as the duo finished second in the region with a total of 600.5 points.

The other two competitors for Northwest will be Sterling Rogers and William Hunter Hughes, who will both be competing in the bull riding.

Rogers finished on top in the region with 460 points, and Hughes finished second behind Rogers with 240 points over the fall and spring seasons.

"The elevation of competition has definitely risen, and the quality of livestock has definitely risen," Trappers head coach Del Nose said. "If they don't come ready to compete, it will be a tough ride through paradise."

Nose said the ropers have been practicing here in Powell, traveling from their homes in Utah and Idaho to practice during the summer.

Rogers and Hughes have been practicing on rodeo circuits in their region as they prepare to head to Casper this weekend.

Despite not being able to see them ride, Nose said he heard Rogers and Hughes were looking strong on the circuit.

"We are looking for a strong finals," Nose said. "These guys practice hard, I have never seen a roping team practice as much as these guys do and it really shows."

Overall the Trappers finished third as a team for the season in the region standings, coming up short of an automatic team qualification.

All athletes who placed top three in the region qualified for the CNFR, and the top two teams in the region automatically qualified as well.