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Athletic Report
April 16, 2002

ZIAS' JOHNNA GARCIA TIES FOR SECOND IN BARREL RACING AT WESTERN TEXAS RODEO
SNYDER, TX – Johnna Garcia (So., Clayton, NM/Clayton H.S.) of Eastern New Mexico University came home with a second place tie in barrel racing at the Western Texas College Rodeo, April 11-13 at the Western Texas Rodeo Arena. Garcia’s combined time after the short go was 27.4 seconds, tying her with West Texas A&M University’s Kerbi Theil for second in the event.

First place in barrel racing went to LeAnn Kay out of Texas Tech University, who had a combined time of 26.96 seconds. Ashley Sultemeier (Fr., Melrose, NM/Melrose H.S.) of ENMU also made the short go in goat tying. She had a combined time of 16.5 seconds and finished in eighth. First place honors were taken by Tibba Smith of Tarleton State University, with a combined time of 14.0 seconds.

ENMU did not score any team points in the women’s division. Garcia and Sultemeier were not on Eastern’s predetermined list of four cowgirls eligible to score points for the team. Tarleton State won the women’s team title with 190 points. Vernon College came in second, earning 128 points.

Texas Tech and New Mexico Junior College tied for third with 80 points, while West Texas A&M placed fifth with 30 points. Western Texas College, the only other team to score, finished with 15 points. Garcia had the best time in barrel racing entering the short go at 13.37 seconds. She earned a time of 13.67 seconds in the short go, but was edged by Kay, who posted a 13.60 in the long go and a 13.36 in the short go.

Sultemeier’s fastest time in goat tying was in the long go, when she clocked in at 7.7 seconds. In the short go, she ran in 8.8 seconds, which wasn’t enough against the quick times recorded by several cowgirls Saturday evening. Smith won with a 6.9 in the prelims and a 7.1 in the short go. In the men’s division, Western Texas College took first place with 305 points.

There was a three-way tie for second, with Tarleton State, Howard College, and Sul Ross State University all finishing with 150 points. Verrnon College took fifth place with 110 points, followed by New Mexico J.C. with 105 points and Texas Tech with 70 points. Eighth place went to Franks Phillips College with 48 1/3 points, while West Texas A&M claimed ninth with 30 points.

South Plains College and Mesaland Community College tied for 10th with 25 points each. Odessa College placed 11th with 3 1/3 points. Eastern’s men’s team did not score, but several Greyhounds reached the short go.

Aaron Romero (Jr., Los Lunas, NM/Los Lunas H.S.) qualified for the short go in calf roping, and registered a combined time of 20.7 seconds to place seventh. The event was won by Chance Lindsey of Frank Phillips with a time of 16.6 seconds. Lindsey’s fastest time was in the short go, where he roped in a blistering 8.2 seconds.

Eastern’s Ky Atwood (Sr., Roswell, NM/Odessa College) and James Gilliland (Fr., Tularosa, NM/ Tularosa H.S.) made the short go in team roping. Unfortunately, they failed to register a time in the short go. They were tied for sixth after the long go with a time of 6.7 seconds. Joining Lindsey as winners in the men’s division were Russell Riggan of Texas Tech and Chris Irwin of Tarleton State in team roping (5.7-6.2--11.9).

Dusty Higgins of New Mexico J.C. and Ely Ganzer of Odessa College tied for first in bull riding with 148 points each. Tyson Thompson of Western Texas College took first in bareback riding (79-76--155), while Jesse Williams of Sul Ross won saddle bronc riding (74-78--152) and Bray Armes of Howard College won steer wrestling (5.9-4.0--9.9). In women’s competition, Smith’s win in goat tying was 6.9-7.1--14.0, Kay’s victory in barrel racing was 13.60-13.36--26.96.

Kelli Smith of New Mexico J.C. won break-away roping with times of 2.5 seconds in the long go, 2.3 seconds in the short go and 4.8 seconds overall. No competitor was designated as the All-Around Cowboy during the rodeo. The All-Around Cowgirl was Jill Childers of Tarleton State with 88.5 points.

Eastern’s rodeo teams return to action on April 18-20 at Big Springs, Texas, where they will compete at the Howard College Rodeo. The Greyhounds and Zias will participate in the Tarleton State University Rodeo in Stephenville, Texas, May 2-4.