Jeff Cavey Wins Saddle Bronc Riding at ENMU/MCC College "Daze" Rodeo

PORTALES, NM – Jeff Cavey of the Eastern New Mexico University rodeo team took first place in saddle bronc riding to lead the Greyhounds and the Zias at the annual College “Daze” Rodeo hosted by ENMU and Mesalands Community College. The event was held Sept. 19 through Sept. 21 at Lewis Cooper Arena, in Portales, N.M.

Cavey recorded a score of 68 in the long go and entered the short go tied for sixth placed. He scored an impressive 75 in the short go to win the event with 143 points. He edged out Bradley Harter of Tarleton State University, who tied for 10th in the long go with a 65, but led all competitors with a score of 77 in the finals. Harter finished with a combined score of 142. The top three riders from the long go failed to post scores in the short go.

James Gililland of ENMU and John Brunson of West Texas A&M University took second place in team roping. The Greyhounds were also represented in the short go of team roping by J.D. Kibbe and Jordan Ward, who finished ninth.

Gililland and Brunson led the field in the long go, with a time of 4.8 seconds, but slipped to 6.3 seconds in the short go. They were nipped for the overall title by Shank Edwards of South Plains College and Tanner Blount of Texas Tech University. Edwards and Blount clocked in at 5.6 seconds in the long go, then completed the short go in 5.3 seconds. They finished with an overall time of 10.9 seconds, compared to 11.1 seconds for Gililland and Brunson.

Kibbe and Ward earned a time of 5.7 seconds in the long go. They received a time of 30.4 seconds - including penalty time - in the short go. They concluded the event with a combined time of 36.1 seconds.

The ENMU men’s rodeo team took fifth place, scoring 115 points against a talented group of cowboys from the Southwest Region. Vernon College won the men’s title with 355 points, and scored in five of six events, but did not receive points in team roping. West Texas College claimed second place with 190 points, South Plains took third with 130 points, and Howard College finished in fourth place with 125 points. Other scores were: Odessa College, 105; Tarleton State University, 105; West Texas A&M, 100; Frank Phillips College, 80, Sul Ross State University, 75; Texas Tech University, 20; and New Mexico Junior College, 15.

Three other members of the ENMU men’s team reached the short go. Royce Lynch took fifth in calf roping. He recorded a time of 10.3 seconds in the long go and finished roping in 10.5 seconds in the short go (20.8 seconds combined). Cinco Boone was clocked in 10.1 seconds in the long go, but failed to register a time in the finals.

Chance Parsons, a freshman who is also participating as a redshirt in football, earned a time of 5.6 seconds in the long go for steer wrestling and achieved a time of 12.2 seconds in the short go (17.8 seconds combined). He took sixth place in the event.

J.W. Todd of West Texas A&M won steer wrestling with a time of 9.4 seconds. Will Lowe from Vernon took first place in bareback riding with a sore of 85 in the short go and an overall score of 162. Calf roping was won by Sterling Smith of Vernon, who completed his two runs with a combined time of 17.8 seconds. Danny McDowell of Howard College won bull riding with a score of 79 in the preliminary round and a score of 77 in the short go (156 total).

The Zias did not score any team points in the women’s competition, but two ENMU cowgirls qualified for the short go. Alesha Tozer competed for the Zias in the short go for goat tying. Jessica King advanced to the short go in barrel racing.

Tozer finished sixth in goal tying with an overall time of 15.7 seconds. She logged a time of 7.9 seconds in the long go and a time of 7.8 seconds in the short go. King took eighth place in barrel racing, after earning times of 18.08 seconds in the long go and 18.51 seconds in the short go (36.59 seconds overall).

Jackie Hobbs of Vernon won goat tying with a combined time of 14.3 seconds. She led the field in the long go at 6.9 seconds, then clocked in with a time of 7.4 seconds in the short go. Barrel racing was won by Skye Holman of Tarleton State, who finished the long go in 17.84 seconds and completed the short go in 17.71 seconds for a combined time of 35.55 seconds. First place in break-away roping went to Tessie McMullan of Vernon, with a time of 3.1 seconds in the long go and an event-best 2.6 seconds in the short go (5.7 seconds combined).

Vernon College won the women’s team title with 345 points. Texas Tech University followed in second place with 120 points, while Tarleton State took third place with 90 points. Other scores posted by women’s teams were: Weatherford College, 60; Odessa College, 40; West Texas College, 40; and West Texas A&M University, 10.

Shank Edwards of South Plains was named All-Around Cowboy, after taking first place in team roping and third in calf roping. Tessie McMullan of Vernon was the All-Around Cowgirl. She won break-away roping, tied for second in goat tying and was 10th in barrel racing.

The Greyhounds and Zias do not compete this weekend. They will return to action at the Sul Ross State University Rodeo, Oct. 3-5, in Alpine, Texas.