UW’s Mousel Takes National Goat Tying Lead After Round One

University of Wyoming Cowgirl Josie Mousel is proving why she was the national goat tying leader for more than half of the regular season. Now, when it counts the most, she has topped the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) standings.

Coming off a no-time during last year's CNFR in Casper, the Colman, S.D., junior stopped the clock in a blazing 5.7 seconds to take the national lead after the completion of round one during Monday's slack session.

Mousel, who came into collegiate rodeo's culminating event with the fifth most individual goat tying points accumulated during the regular season, wants to reach her second straight CNFR championship round -- and, more importantly, come away as a national contender. With two rounds remaining to get into Saturday's championship round -- where, a year ago, her goat kicked out of its tie to leave her out of the top 10 -- Mousel knows she just has to focus on the next goat.

"One miss on a tie can take you out of the average," she says. "I need to keep my head down, keep focused on all the goats I have left -- and, if I make no mistakes, the cards will land in my favor."

Her impressive opening round began when her horse ran straight and fast down the arena floor; Mousel then had a clean dismount and "ran as fast as I could on my feet" toward the goat. She drew a smaller animal, which helped power her by taking the goat down cleanly and quicker for a successful tie.

"All I could think at that point is to make sure I get a good running start to the goat and, after that, it's all a blur. I can't think of a whole lot at that point," she says.

Her run was similar to last season, when she won the goat tying's third round. She hopes to regain her status as the national leader for the rest of the week. Mousel competed earlier in the morning in breakaway roping but missed her calf.

Fourteen UW team members also competed Monday during the first of two straight days of slack. It was a tough go for most of the Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Two of Mousel's Cowgirl teammates saw their first CNFR action earlier in the day. Layni Stevens, of St. Lawrence, S.D., managed a 6.6-second time in goat tying that put her 11th after the first round. Rock Springs' Mackenzi Scott stopped the clock in 14.38 seconds in barrel racing, putting her 25th in the average.

The Cowboys really struggled to find their footing throughout the day, especially in the timed events.

In steer wrestling, Thayne Kimbrough, from Ohiowa, Neb., had the top individual performance for the Pokes, placing 11th overall based on his 5.1-second opening steer wrestling run. Teammates Jacob Wang, of Baker, Mont., and Sam Gallagher, of Brighton, Colo., both recorded no-times on their runs.

Tate Talkington, from Scottsbluff, Neb., and Traven Sharon, of Ordway, Colo., turned in the top tie-down roping performances for the Cowboys. Talkington posted a time of 11.9 seconds, while Sharon roped his calf in 14.02, leaving them 14th and 19th, respectively, after the opening round.

Sitting in the top 30 in the same event are teammates Rio Nutter, of Rapid City, S.D., and Treg Thorstensen, of Lantry, S.D., who were both hit with 10-second penalties for breaking the barrier coming out of the box too early. Nutter's time was 19.4, and Thorstensen's was 22.1.

Only one of three UW team roping teams had a successful run Monday.

The Weil brothers, Rowdy and Roan, both had good ropes, recording a 15.1-second time. The duo of Nutter and Thorstensen had no-time, as did Kash Reynolds, from Rozet, and partner Tyon Arneson, representing Sheridan College.

And Aidan Sawyer, of Sheridan, was bucked off his bull for the second straight day.

The first of four nightly performances is Tuesday evening, with the top 12 individual marks and times in both the men's and women's events earning championship-round bids Saturday night.