FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, April 4, 2022

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University rodeo teams over the weekend sent 27 ropers and riders to the finals in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association stop in Snyder hosted by Western Texas College.

Tarleton’s women placed five each in barrel racing and goat tying, leading to a fourth-place finish.

McKenzie Morgan won the barrel racing, posting first-place finishes in the long go and the average. Teammate Maddie Dickens was second overall after a third-place long-go run, and Danica Hoppman was sixth in the average.

Mary Risse and Timber Kelly wound up in a fourth-place tie in the average after taking second and third in the preliminary round. Rayme Jones, Hayley Danley and Keni Labrum were fifth, eighth and eighth in the first round.

Breakaway roper Haley Polk rolled to a second-place run in the short go, finishing in third place overall. Samantha Vallone took seventh in both the long go and the average.

Tarleton’s men were paced by steer wrestler Walt Arnold, who turned his third-place effort in the opening round into first in the average. Kyler Dick won the long go.

Team ropers Garret Raffino and Kadim Babb placed third in the preliminaries and finished third overall; T.J. Allen and Kasen Brennise were third and fourth in the first round and fifth and sixth overall; and Karson Stephens and Clint Knudson took second in the opening round and sixth in the finals.

Bull riders Riggen Hughes and Riley Harris finished third and fourth, respectively, in the first round, then took fourth and sixth in the finals.

Saddle bronc riders Brody Wells, Cooper Mullican and Cleveland Griffin finished second, sixth and sixth in the long round.

The Tarleton men finished 12th in Snyder.

Both teams return to action April 21-23 at the Howard College Rodeo, then end the regular season at the Tarleton Stampede, April 28-30.

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.