UT MARTIN WOMEN WIN SEASON-OPENING RODEO AT PEARL RIVER; MEN’S TEAM PLACES SECOND

Thursday, September 13

Hattiesburg, Miss.

UT Martin

Pearl River CC

Photo by: UT Martin University Relations

UT MARTIN WOMEN WIN SEASON-OPENING RODEO AT PEARL RIVER; MEN’S TEAM PLACES SECOND

9/16/2018 1:26:00 PM | Rodeo

Results

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It was a successful season opener for both University of Tennessee at Martin rodeo squads this weekend as the women's team claimed top honors while the men's team finished second at the rodeo hosted by Pearl River Community College.

The UT Martin women's squad tallied 380 points, besting second-place Murray State by 132.5 points. The men's team earned 475 points, coming in second in the team standings behind Missouri Valley College (1,000 points).

The freshman duo of Kailey Schmidt and Lauren Heck excelled in goat tying during their collegiate debuts. Schmidt finished in second place across the board, posting times of 7.8 in the first round and 7.7 in the short go for a 15.5 average. Heck's 16.2 average ranked third after she placed fourth in both the opening round and in the short go with identical times of 8.1 seconds.

Ashley Brooks and Madison McFall paved the way for UT Martin in barrel racing. Brooks put together the top performance of the short go (15.53) while finishing second in average (31.29) and fifth in the opening round (15.76). McFall earned top-four finishes in all three phases, placing second in the short go (15.62), third in average (31.37) and fourth in the first round (15.75).

Four UT Martin cowboys dialed up points in bareback riding, led by Hunter Green. The newcomer out of Bastrop, La. posted the best score (85) in the short go while also finishing second in average (161) and splitting third in the opening round (76). Stetson Bierman also earned points in all three phases, finishing second in the first go with a 78, splitting third with a 155 average and placing fifth with a 77 in the short round. Weston Hamilton's 70 points in the first round was good enough for fifth and also ranked fifth in average while Blake Leamon's short-go score of 81 ranked third.

Robbie Van Holten came away with points in all three phases of the calf roping event. His time of 10 seconds in the second round was good enough to split third while he also finished fourth in average (20.5) and split sixth in the first round (10.5).

In saddle bronc riding, Robert Haley was one of only three cowboys in the entire event to record points. His 81 was the best score of the first round while that same score held up for the third-best mark in the average.

UT Martin received scoring contributions from four separate cowboys in steer wrestling. Hunter Styles led the charge with the second-best time in the first round (5.0), the third-best average score (10.8) and the fourth-best time in the short go (5.8). Van Holten split second with a time of 5.6 seconds in the short round while his 11.9 ranked fourth in average. Craig Parks (5.5) and Chase Thrasher (5.9) also had strong first rounds, placing fourth and sixth, respectively.

Five UT Martin cowboys spread out over three teams collected points in team roping. Clay Tilley teamed up with Northwest Mississippi's Cade Cowan to win the average (14.6) after splitting first in the short round (7.0) and placing fifth in the opening go (7.6). The tandem of Quentin Sawyer and Will McCraw split first in the second round with a 7.0 while also splitting second in average (14.9) and splitting sixth in the first go (7.9). Thrasher and Styles also joined forces to place fourth in the first round (7.3), sixth in the short go (15.8) and sixth in average (23.1).

Ryan McDaniel was one of just four overall competitors to accrue points in bull riding. His 84 points in the second round proved to be the best score in the field.

UT Martin returns to action next week when it travels to Marshall, Mo. for a rodeo hosted by Missouri Valley College on Sept. 20-22.