UW Cowgirls Dominate at Sheridan College Rodeo

The University of Wyoming Cowgirls own the rodeo arena this season.

The UW women won their third straight Central Rocky Mountain Region (CRMR) team title of the fall schedule, dominating the weekend competition at Sheridan College when all four points team members placed in in the average of their respective events.

And for the second straight weekend, it was Josie Mousel who paced the Cowgirls, winning two separate events in taking the all-around title for the second consecutive time.

The Colman, S.D., Cowgirl won both rounds of goat tying, scoring 60 points across two rounds to give her the average. She did the same in breakaway roping, nearly pulling off a perfect 180 points in two rounds and the average. She split first place in the short go to score 355 points overall for the UW women.

"Josie was dominant over the weekend. She looks laser-focused and in her zone," says UW Coach Seth Glause. "Winning the last two all-around titles, she has a lot of confidence. It has been a lot of fun to watch her put in the work in the practice pen and reap the benefits at the rodeos."

Teammate Layni Stevens, of Wheatland, was in a three-way fourth-place split in the goat tying average, and Landry Haugen, of Sturgis, S.D., combined with teammate Olivia Lay, from Elbert, Colo., for sixth in the team roping average.

The Cowgirls took the third of the five CRMR fall rodeos in Sheridan with 525 team points to outdistance both Gillette College and Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in the weekend standings. The Pronghorns produced 285 points, and the Golden Eagles scored 140.

UW's teams head south for the Lamar (Colo.) Community College rodeo this weekend. The season wraps up the following weekend for the LCCC rodeo.

In Sheridan, the UW women widened their overall regional lead with 1,135 points -- a 475-point lead over Gillette College, which climbed into second in the standings with 660 points. LCCC slipped into third place at 580.

Three other UW team members also placed in the average over the weekend, including a pair in goat tying. Gillette's RaeLee Caldwell and Kassidy Dunagan , of Whitehall, Mont., split fourth place with Stevens. Rock Springs' Makenzi Scott had barrel racing's sixth overall best time.

"The women's team was really consistent this weekend, with all four of our points team contributing points to the team total," Glause says. "I look forward to Lamar and getting back to work in the practice pen this week."

The UW men struggled for the first time this season, finishing out of the top three, taking fourth place in Sheridan with a season-low 290 points. Gillette College took the weekend team title with 660 points, and the host Generals were second at 430.

Despite a tough weekend, the Cowboys maintained their overall CRMR lead with 1,725 points, while Sheridan College held steady in the runner-up position with 1,290. Chadron State College is third in the standings with 995 points heading into the final two weekends of the fall slate.

Tate Talkington , from Scottsbluff, Neb., won the tie down roping competition on the strength of the short go round's top time. Also scoring for the Cowboys were David Gallagher, of Brighton, Colo., who was fifth in the bulldogging average, and Rio Nutter , of Rapid City, S.D., produced the opening round's best time. Treg Thorstenson , of Lantry , S.D., split the first round's sixth-best time to add to the team's total output.

Teammates Traven Sharon and Thayne Kimbrough won their respective events. Sharon, from Ordway, Colo., was the top saddle bronc rider, and Kimbrough, of Ohiowa, Neb., took the steer wrestling competition.

Brothers Rowdy and Roan Weil, of Kersey, Colo., were the team roping's runner-up duo, and last year's bulldogging regional champion, Jacob Wang, from Baker, Mont., was second in the event. Yoder's Kyler Clark and William Warner, from LCCC, were fifth in the team roping average.