LINCOLN, Neb. – Finding their grove back at just the right time, the Black Hills State University women’s rodeo team has now won back-to-back Great Plains Regional titles and earned their sixth rodeo crown of the season with the win at the Cornhusker College Rodeo this weekend.
As the Yellow Jacket dominance has continued over the years, they have now ended the season atop the regional standings in ten of the last 14 seasons. Among the top BHSU cowgirls this season, Emma Ohm clinched the regional title in breakaway roping while Cashae McGee finishes the season second in the women’s all-around, and Haley Husted and Sierra Steele battled their ways to third place finishes in the region in goat tying and barrel racing to punch their tickets to the CNFR. Additionally, to go along with her regional title, Ohm was voted as the Great Plains Region nominee for the Walt Garrison Award, the most coveted award in college rodeo to this day, which is a scholarship given out by the NIRA each year at the CNFR to a collegiate athlete that demonstrates qualities such as initiative, loyalty, tenacity, commitment, honesty, perseverance, integrity, and leadership.
On the men’s side Black Hills State notched a sixth place team finish with 165 points at the Cornhusker College Rodeo. The Yellow Jacket cowboys were led by Jess Harper in the team roping as he earned a second place finish as a heeler, helping himself secure a trip to the CNFR with a third place finish in the region.
HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN’S RODEO
- Swade Reis was able to snag ten points in the long go of the steer wrestling, earning his spot in the short go finals with a time of 10.0 seconds. Unfortunately, in the short go he was unable to record a time and would finish in ninth place at the Sandhills Global Events Center.
- Joining Reis in the top-10 of the steer wrestling event was Markus Ailie. He finished tenth in the event as he posted a time of 13.2 seconds on the long go, however, he was unable to notch a time on the short go in event.
- Clinching a spot to Casper as a team roping heeler was Jess Harper as he paired up once again with Colton Zubach of Dickinson State University. The duo finished second at the Cornhusker College Rodeo with a time of 21.2 seconds on two go arounds, just 0.1 second back of the winning team. They posted times of 8.7 seconds on the long go and 12.5 seconds on the short go, earning 125 points on the weekend and bringing their season total to 559 points to finish third in the Great Plains Region.
- Luke Mavity teamed up with Dawson Davis of Iowa Central Community College again in the team roping, which saw the pair notch their second top-6 finish of the season. With a clean catch and time of 8.8 seconds in the long go, they were able to advance to the short go but were unable to clock a time in the round. Their sixth place finish resulted in 30 points on the weekend.
- Rounding out the top-10 of the team roping event, Terran Talsma paired up with Briley Anderson. The duo posted a time of 15.8 seconds in the long go to advance to the short go finals, however, they were unable to secure a time in the final round.
TEAM STANDINGS – MEN’S RODEO
| Team | Points |
| 1. Mid-Plains Community College | 710 |
| 2. Bismarck State College | 685 |
| 3. South Dakota State University | 665 |
| 4. Iowa Central Community College | 475 |
| 5. Dickinson State University | 300 |
| 6. Black Hills State University | 165 |
| 7. Mitchell Technical College | 150 |
| 8. Graceland University | 40 |
| 9. Southeast Community College | 30 |
HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN’S RODEO
- Securing her second win in goat tying this season, Raylee Fagerhaug posted a time of 13.3 seconds on two go arounds. She held the lead throughout the weekend, notching both the fastest long go time at 6.6 seconds and the fastest short go time at 6.7 seconds. Earning 180 points this weekend, she moved up one spot in the regional standings to fourth as she has now accumulated 663.3 points this year.
- While her streak of top-3 finishes may have come to an end in goat tying, Haley Husted has still finished top-5 in each of the last five rodeos for the Yellow Jackets as she concluded the weekend in Lincoln with a time of 14.0 seconds on two go arounds for fourth place. The performance in the Cornhusker College Rodeo where she clocked the second-fastest long go time of 6.7 seconds and then a time of 7.3 seconds on the short go helped her secure her spot to Casper and the CNFR. With 80 points she ends the regular season third in the region with a total of 715 points.
- Cashae McGee added her sixth top-5 finish of the season in goat tying, clocking a time of 14.1 seconds on two go arounds for fifth place at the University of Nebraska hosted rodeo. She notched times of 7.2 seconds on the long go and then picked up the pace with a 6.9 second short go time. She collected 80 points this weekend to go towards her now 638 points on the year, finishing fifth place in the region.
- Emma Ohm led the way in the breakaway roping for the Yellow Jackets, securing her sixth top-5 finish of the year and clinching the Great Plains Region title in the event. Her fifth place finish was the result of a two go around time of 5.5 seconds, posting times of 3.0 seconds on the long go and 2.5 seconds on the short go. Her 45 points on the weekend brought her season total to 700 points as she ended the year atop the regional standings.
- Finishing just behind Ohm in the breakaway roping at the Cornhusker College Rodeo was Tatum Carey, who clocked a time of 5.9 seconds on two go arounds for sixth place. She tallied times of 2.8 seconds on the long go and 3.1 seconds on the short go for 40 points on the weekend.
- Rounding out the top-10 in breakaway roping in Lincoln was Sidney Hanson, who earned her way into the short go with a time of 2.9 seconds, however, she was unable to clock a time in the finals on Saturday night. She earned five points competing at the Sandhills Global Event Center this weekend.
- Finishing second place for the second consecutive weekend, Jayda Reinert posted a time of 29.87 seconds in the barrel racing. She clocked times of 15.11 seconds in the long go and had one of the only two sub-15 second times in the short go at 14.76 seconds. She earned 140 points on the weekend, helping her move three spots up to fourth with 435 points in the final regional standings and was unfortunately just 25 points short of a spot in the CNFR. Over the course of the last two weekends, she has moved seven spots up the standings and gained 260 points.
- It took all the way until the short go finals, but Sierra Steele did what she needed to do and climbed into the top-3 of the regional standings in barrel racing to punch a ticket to Casper. With a long go time of 15.16 seconds, she entered the Saturday night finals just 11 points out of third place when she then proceeded to notch the third-fastest time in the round at 15.05 seconds. She rounded out the weekend with a total time of 30.21 seconds on two go arounds for third place, earning 100 points to bring her season total to 460 points to finish third in the standings with four top-3 finishes on the year.
- Capri Cammack earned an eighth place finish in barrel racing in Lincoln, recording a time of 31.76 seconds on two go arounds, posting times of 15.14 seconds on the long go and 16.62 seconds on the short go. She earned 30 points on the weekend.
- Rounding out the top-10 in barrel racing was Fagerhaug, who clocked a time of 35.86 seconds on two go arounds as she tallied times of 15.36 seconds on the long go and 20.50 seconds on the short go.
- Rounding out the top-10 of the team roping event, Terran Talsma paired up with Briley Anderson. The duo posted a time of 15.8 seconds in the long go to advance to the short go finals, however, they were unable to secure a time in the final round.
TEAM STANDINGS – WOMEN’S RODEO
| Team | Points |
| 1. Black Hills State University | 385 |
| 2. University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 205 |
| 3. Mitchell Technical College | 175 |
| 4. Dickinson State University | 155 |
| 5. South Dakota State University | 55 |
| 6. North Dakota State University | 15 |
UP NEXT
The Black Hills State University women’s team along with the qualified Yellow Jacket individuals will have about a month and a half until they are set to compete in the College National Finals Rodeo at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming. Set to be held June 15-21, each of the five performances of the week will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN3.
