The Eastern New Mexico rodeo program had their best outing of the season this past weekend at the Vernon College Rodeo.
The men’s team utilized a strong performance from senior Wesley Gudgell in the steer wrestling to finish in 13th place as a team, while the women’s team had three cowgirls qualify for the short round in the breakaway roping.
Gudgell qualified for the short round Saturday night with a time of 4.2 seconds in the long round which split first, second and third place for the round and earned 50 points for the team. The Logan, N.M native then went on to collect the remainder of his 105 team points for the weekend with a time of 5.3 in Saturday night’s short go that placed him in fifth place in the round and split third and fourth place for the average.
Gudgell served as the lone cowboy to advance to the short go for the men’s team, providing the 105 points that Eastern New Mexico finished with on the men’s side.
Sophomores Catherine Hisel and Lenay Willie along with freshman Kaitlyn Doughty all had solid outings in the breakaway roping, but were not designated as team members. Doughty won the long round with a time of 2.2 seconds, but failed to record a time in the short go on Saturday night.
Hisel qualified for Saturday night with a time of 2.4 seconds in the long round and recorded a time of 12.4 seconds in the short go to finish with an average of 14.80. Hisel and Willie, who placed 10th in the long go with a time of 2.9, both did not place in the short go or the average.
The Eastern New Mexico rodeo program will continue their fall schedule this weekend in Canyon, Texas at the West Texas A&M Rodeo.
