ENMU Rodeo Qualifies Three Athletes for 2005 College National Finals Rodeo

PORTALES, N.M. — Eastern New Mexico University rodeo athletes Dusty Higgins (Sr.,
Roswell, NM/New Mexico JC), James Gililland (Sr., Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) and Brittany Bennett (Fr., Portales, NM/Dora HS) have qualified for the 2005 College National Finals Rodeo, set for June 12-18 in Casper, Wyo. Higgins qualified for the CNFR in bull riding, while Gililland qualified as a team roping healer and Bennett qualified in barrel racing. It is the second straight year in which ENMU has qualified three athletes for the CNFR.

Rodeo athletes must conclude the regular season ranked among the top three finishers in their event within their Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association in order to qualify for the National Finals. ENMU competes in the Southwest Region, which is generally considered one of the top two regions in the NIRA.

College National Finals Rodeo Qualifiers

Higgins was the Southwest Region bull riding champion. Gililland placed second in the Southwest Region among team roping healers, and Bennett earned second place in the Region in barrel racing. Higgins narrowly missed the CNFR in 2004, when he placed fourth in the Region in bull riding.

Higgins excelled during the spring season, as he won bull riding at the Weatherford College Rodeo with a combined score of 167 (82-85), and took second place at the Howard College (73-78—151) and Odessa College (71-78—149) rodeos. He tied for third place at Western Texas College (76-77-153). Higgins was named All-Around Cowboy at Weatherford.

Gililland took first place in team roping at two rodeos this spring. He won the event at Tarleton State University in a combined time of 11.8 seconds (5.9-5.9) with header Matt Martin from TSU. He also claimed first at Odessa College (5.9-6.1—12.0), where he was paired with Clayton Jackson from TSU.

Gililland and Jackson also took third place at TSU (6.1-6.3—12.4) and finished second at West Texas A&M (5-4-6.6—12.0). Overall, Gililland reached the short go with at least one partner at seven of 10 rodeos during the year. He advanced to the finals with two partners a total of three times.

Bennett qualified for the short go just two times in six rodeos this spring, but placed first or second at all four rodeos in the Southwest Region during the fall season. She was the champion in barrel racing at Vernon College with an overall time of 34.68 (17.42 17.26). She was second at the ENMU College Daze Rodeo (17.81-17.77—35.58), as well as at the Sul Ross State Rodeo (15.71-15.50—31.21) and at the Texas Tech Rodeo (32.26 total score).

ENMU’s group of CNFR qualifiers just missed including a fourth athlete. Chance Pettigrew (Sr., Clovis, NM/Melrose HS) finished sixth in the Region in steer wrestling, but was just 30.0 points out of third place. Other athletes who finished sixth in the Region were Stetson Herrera (So., Marvel, CO/Durango HS) in bareback riding and Raelyn Gardner (Fr., Lovington, NM/Lovington HS) in goat tying.

This is the second season in which all CNFR competitors have qualified by placing at the top of their respective regions during the regular season. In previous years, the list of competitors at the national finals was a mixture of top finishers from the regular season and top performers at regional championship rodeos. The regional finals have been eliminated, putting even greater emphasis on the regular season.

Points were awarded for top performances in the long go and short go at each of the season’s 10 rodeos, plus additional points for finishing at the top of the combined standings (average score or time) each week.

Browder Named Southwest Region Coach of the Year

The ENMU rodeo teams experienced an outstanding 2004-05 season. Head Coach David Browder led the way by being voted Southwest Region Coach of the Year. The men’s team won the Weatherford College and Odessa College rodeos, while the women’s team took first place at the West Texas A&M Rodeo.

Overall, Eastern’s women took fourth place in the Southwest Region with 673.33 points, less than seven points away from Vernon College in third place with 680.0 points. Tarleton State won the Regional title with 1,424.99 points

The ENMU men’s team placed fifth in the Southwest Region with 1,110.83 points. Texas Tech University won the men’s championship with 1,859.16 points. Entire teams do not qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo, as all athletes must qualify individually.