BOTH UT MARTIN TEAMS PLACE IN TOP-FIVE AT RODEO HOSTED BY ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO

Thursday, March 12

Monticello, Ark.

UT Martin

Arkansas-Monticello

BOTH UT MARTIN TEAMS PLACE IN TOP-FIVE AT RODEO HOSTED BY ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO

3/14/2020 6:32:00 PM | Rodeo

Results

MONTICELLO, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin rodeo teams took part in the event hosted by Arkansas-Monticello this weekend, as the women's squad placed second and the men's team finished fifth in the final standings.

The UT Martin women's team nearly brought home its second victory of the season, as it finished with 235 points – only five behind winner Southern Arkansas. The UT Martin men's squad collected 335 points as Missouri Valley College (810 points) topped the men's side.

Three separate UT Martin cowboys tallied points in bareback riding. Stetson Bierman put together a great showing by finishing first in the short go (79), second in average (153) and second in the opening round (74). Hunter Green split third in the first go (72) before placing fourth in both the short round (71) and in average (143). Blake Leamon also registered points, splitting third in the opening round with a 72 while his 72 average was good enough for sixth place.

Will McCraw came away with a pair of fifth-place performances in calf roping, earning that designation in the short go (11.9) and in average (24.2).

UT Martin's cowgirls put in major work in the breakaway roping event as four different representatives accrued points. Anna Scott split second in average (5.8) and in the first round (2.6) while finishing fourth in the short go (3.2). Kayla Lombardo also added points in all three phases by splitting second in the short round (3.0), placing fourth in average (6.0) and splitting fifth in the opening go (3.0). Casey Allen's 8.3 average and 5.2 in the short round placed fifth in both performances while Kailey Schmidt (16.2 average, 12.2 short go) finished sixth in both of her aforementioned performances.

In saddle bronc riding, Tyler Pruitt finished fourth across the board with scores of 137 in average, 67 in the first round and 70 in the short go. Jack Smithson's 66 average and 66 in the opening round earned him fifth-place finishes in both categories while Robert Haley's 76 in the second go was the second-best score in the field.

A pair of UT Martin cowboys notched points in steer wrestling, led by Chase Thrasher's times of 5.2 seconds in the first round (fifth place) and 16.0 seconds in average (sixth place). Robbie Van Holten also recorded a fourth-place effort with a time of 4.8 seconds in the short go.

Kaitlyn Thompson and Lombardo each provided scores in goat tying. Thompson's 8.4 in the first round split third while her 17.7 average split fourth and her 9.3 in the short go placed sixth in the field. Lombardo's first-round time of 8.4 seconds was good enough to split third with Thompson.

Five cowboys delivered scoring efforts in team roping for UT Martin. Ethan Wheeler joined forces with Strand Barricklow from Southern Arkansas to place first in average (11.5), first in the opening round (4.7) and third in the short go (6.8). Cole Walker teamed up with Blane Maxwell from Three Rivers College to place second in the short round (5.3) and third in average (14.3). The all-UT Martin tandem of Van Holten and Wyatt Hart finished fifth in average (19.7), fifth in the second round (11.4) and split fifth in the opening go (8.3). Tyler Brooks partnered with East Mississippi's Kayley Kennemer to place third in the opening round with a time of 7.7 seconds.

Summer Conley excelled in the barrel racing event as her 15.65 in the first go led the field. The Jackson, Ga. native added second-place finishes in both average (31.54) and in the short round (15.89). Allen additionally earned a second-place finish for UT Martin with a time of 15.72 seconds in the first round, trailing only her teammate Conley for the best time.

In bull riding, Hart came away with the best score (80) of the second round – which was also the highest of any of the seven awarded scores in the event.

It was announced on Friday that UT Martin's next scheduled rodeo – hosted by Pearl River Community College on March 26-28 – has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. A decision on the 52^nd Annual UT Martin Spring College Rodeo (scheduled for April 16-18) is pending and will be announced at a later date.