Greyhounds Win Odessa College Rodeo, as Herrera Takes
First Place in Bareback Riding
Gililland is First and Flewelling is Second in Team Roping; Higgins Wins Short Go for Second Place Overall in Bull Riding

Men's Event Champions
Women's Event Champions

ODESSA, TEXAS — The Eastern New Mexico University men’s rodeo team took first place at the Odessa College Rodeo, Mar. 24-26, with Stetson Herrera (So., Marvel, CO/Durango HS) leading the way with an individual title in bareback riding. The Greyhounds scored 220 points to win the rodeo by 35 points, as host Odessa claimed second place with 185.

Eastern’s women tied for eighth place with 10 points. Raelyn Gardner (Fr., Lovington, NM/Lovington HS) reached the finals in break-away roping.

While Herrera earned individual honors in bareback riding, James Gililland (Sr., Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) was combining with Clayton Jackson of Tarleton State University to win the team roping title. Other top performances for the Greyhounds included Tyrell Flewelling (Fr., Lacombe, ALB, Canada) and his team roping partner, Kyle Roberts of New Mexico Junior College, taking second place and Dusty Higgins (Sr., Roswell, New Mexico JC) earning second place in bull riding.

Herrera was second in the long go of bareback riding with a 79. He tied for first in the short go with Zach Dishman of Texas Tech, as both athletes scored 76. Herrera’s total of 155 points took first place by three points over Lee Pedone of Vernon College, who scored 152 with an 80 for first place in the long go, plus 72 in the short go.

In team roping, Gililland and Jackson took third place in the long go at 5.9 seconds, but won the event by earning second in the short go in 6.1 seconds for an overall time of 12.0 seconds. Troy McDonald of Clarendon College and Cory King of Tarleton State, who won the long go in 4.7 seconds, failed to register a time in the finals.

Flewelling and Roberts tied for fourth in the team roping long go at 6.1 second, then won the short go in 6.0 seconds to claim second place overall at 12.1 seconds. Flewelling was not on Eastern’s predetermined list of six athletes designated to score points toward the Hounds’ team total.

Higgins almost won bull riding for the second week in a row. He recorded the top score= in the short go with a 78, but finished two points behind winner Cooper Kanngieser from Vernon College in the overall standings. Kanngieser scored 74 in the long go and 77 in the finals for a total score of 151. Higgins recorded a 71 in the preliminary round. Last week, Higgins won bull riding at the Weatherford College Rodeo with a combined score of 167 (82-85).

Three other Greyhounds also reached the short go in their respective events. Royce Lynch (Sr., Deming, NM/Deming HS) clocked in at 9.6 seconds in the preliminaries of tie-down roping, and was timed at 10.0 seconds in the finals. His total time of 19.6 seconds ranked fifth, just 0.9 seconds away from fourth place and additional points toward ENMU’s team score. In steer wrestling, Chance Pettigrew (Sr., Clovis, NM/Clovis HS) completed his run in the long go in 6.3 seconds, but was unable to finish his run in the short go. Jared Green (Fr., Soccoro, NM/Soccoro HS) scored 67 points in the first round of saddle bronc riding, but couldn’t complete his run in the short go.

Gardner was the only member of the ENMU women’s rodeo team to advance to the short go. Her preliminary round time of 2.7 seconds in the long go of break-away roping tied for the fourth fastest time of the event — including the short go. The finals proved difficult for many of the break-away entrants, as Gardner and five other competitors failed to record a time.

Eastern and Odessa were joined in the top three of the men’s division by Vernon with 170 points. Tarleton State finished fourth with 130 points, West Texas A&M University was fifth with 120 points and Western Texas College took sixth with 93 1/3 points. Seventh place went to Frank Phillips College with 78 1/3 points, while New Mexico Junior College was eighth with 57 1/2 points, Texas Tech University was ninth at 43 1/3 points, Weatherford was 10th at 40 points, Clarendon College and Mesalands Community College tied for 11th with 20 points, and South Plains College was 13th with 5 points.

In the women’s division, Tarleton State claimed first place with 200 points. Texas Tech was second with 140 points, Vernon was third with 100 points, Weatherford took fourth with 55 points, Western Texas College and Odessa tied for fifth with 40 points, West Texas A&M was sixth with 20 points, and ENMU and Mesalands tied for eighth with 10 points. Tessie McMullan of Tarleton State was chosen All-Around Cowgirl with 160 points, and Marty Eakin of West Texas A&M was named All-Around Cowboy with 110 points.

Eastern’s next action is slated for Mar. 31 through Apr. 2 at the Western Texas College Rodeo. The rodeo will be held at the Scurry County Coliseum in Snyder, Texas.

Men’s Event Champions
at Odessa College (Mar. 24-26, 2005)

Bareback Riding
Stetson Herrera of Eastern New Mexico
79-76—155 points

Bull Riding
Kyle German of Frank Phillips
74-77—151 points

Saddle Bronc Riding
Brody Bolton of Odessa
76-72—148 points

Steer Wrestling
James Hutton of Fank PHillips
3.9-4.2—8.1 seconds

Team Roping
Clayton Jackson of Tarleton State and James Gililland of Eastern New Mexico
5.9-6.1—12.0 seconds

Tie-Down Roping
Adam Gray of Texas Tech
8.7-8.9—17.6 seconds

Women’s Event Champions
at Odessa College (Mar. 24-26, 2005)

Barrel Racing
J.J. Thompson Texas Tech
15.42-15.44—30.86 seconds

Break-Away Roping
Jacey Honey of Vernon
2.5-2.7—5.2 seconds

Goat Tying
Tessie McMullan of Tarleton State
8.1-7.0—15.1 seconds