NWC RODEO COMPETES IN HOME EVENT

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Getting out in front of the home fans on Friday and Saturday the Northwest College rodeo team experienced highs and lows at the Trapper Stampede.

"Overall the rodeos were really good," coach Del Nose said. "The performances and the slack went pretty fast."

Weston LaPierre enjoyed a strong weekend at the Cody rodeo grounds, placing second in the All-Around with 233 points.

He placed second in tie down roping with a time of 10.1 seconds, while competing alongside Gary Grant in the team roping to take home third.

The duo recorded a time of 7.8 seconds in the event, as Grant served as the header and LaPierre as the heeler.

Grant also finished near the top in the All-Around, finishing sixth with 176 points.

In addition to team roping he also placed fifth in tie down roping with a time of 10.8 seconds.

Overall the Trappers finished third as a team on the men's side, earning 409 points in the first rodeo.

Montana State University won the team standings with a score of 1,071 and the University of Montana-Western was second with 942.5. Montana State University-Northern was fourth with 176 points and Dawson Community College was fifth with 13.

On the women's side the lone placer was Nicole Groeneveld, who tied for sixth in the barrel racing with a time of 17.81.

The Northwest women finished fifth in the team standings with 41 points.

MSU-Northern won the women's title with 233 points, MSU finished second with 189.83 points, the University of Montana was third with 167 points and the University of Montana-Western finished fourth with 166.83 points.

What went right in the Friday rodeo did not follow in the Saturday rodeo, as no Trapper men or women placed on Saturday, and no team scores were recorded.

"The first one was a good rodeo, the second one was terrible," Nose said.

Northwest will now head out on the road for the remainder of the season, starting with a trip to Glendive, Montana, to take part in the Dawson Community College rodeo.

"Hopefully we can pull into Glendive and turn it around," Nose said. "We gotta focus on not making mistakes … We've got the talent, we'll rebound back."

That will be Friday and Saturday, before the Trappers take next weekend off before the final fall rodeo in Dillon, Montana, at the University of Montana-Western.