Northern rodeo proves tough and entertaining

For most of the season, the Montana State University-Northern rodeo team will be on the road. Yet, this past weekend, the Lights and Skylights got to enjoy some home cooking.

In a three-day event that spanned Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Great Northern Fairgrounds, Northern hosted the rest of the Big Sky Region, which includes Montana State University, the University of Montana-Western, Northwest College, Miles City Community College, the University of Great Falls, the University of Montana and Dawson Community College in the 2014 MSU-Northern Rodeo.

Unfortunately, it was a difficult weekend for both the Lights and the Skylights, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively in the event. The Lights were able to score 60 points as a team, while the Skylights came away with just 20 team points.

The men's title went to Montana State University with a total of 680 points. Montana-Western finished second with 585 points and Northwest College finished a respectable third with 410 points.

The Bobcats also walked away with the women's title as well after scoring 500 points, compared to 335 points for UM-Western. UGF finished third with 290 points.

The Northern rodeo team, which is led by third-year head coach Doug Kallenberger, had few bright spots on the weekend; one of them was the performance of Laramie Pursley, who finished seventh in barrel racing with a time of 36.88 for the Skylights.

The other Skylight who placed and earned points for MSU-N was Sierra Juanita Collins, who finished fifth in the breakaway roping competition with a score of 4.4

Leading the way for the Lights was Alan Gobert, who came in fifth in the saddle bronc riding with a score of 69 points.

The Lights and Skylights will both be in action again this weekend when they head to Miles City to compete at the Miles Community College Rodeo.

Northern Rodeo

Friday-Sunday

Men's Team Scores

1. Montana State University 680;

2. University of Montana-Western 585;

3. Northwest College 410;

4. Miles City Community College 200;

5. University of Great Falls 185;

6. University of Montana 120;

7. Montana State University-Northern 60

Men's All-Around

Kane Cartwright, University of Montana-Western, 250.

Women's Team Scores

1. Montana State University 500;

2. University of Montana-Western 335;

3. University of Great Fall 290;

4. University of Montana 85;

5. Northwest College 70;

6. Miles City Community College 70;

7. Dawson Community College 60;

8. Montana State University-Northern 20

Women's All-Around

Michelle Reiser, Montana State University, 220.

Individual Events

Saddle Bronc Riding – 1. Kendall Green, MSU, 134; 2. Tyler Friend, UMTW, 132; 3. Philip Shields, UMT, 126; 4. Dakota Munns, UMTW 95; 5. Alan Gobert, MSU-N, 69; 6. William Shirley, UMTW,69; 7. Colton Douglas, MILES, 48.

Bareback – 1. Cavan Wrzesinski, MSU, 153; 2. Wyatt Bloom, MSU, 139; 3. Cache Hill, UGF, 134; 4. J2 Lloyd Bridges, UMTW 112.

Bull Riding – 1. Casey Fredericks, NWC, 65; 2. Tristan Hansen, UMTW, 63; 3. Tyler Sterner, NWC, 63; 4. Casey Reder, MILES, 62; 5. Tyler Donnelly, NWC, 57.

Tie Down Roping – 1. Logan Brown, NWC, 33; 2. Jade Gardner, UMTW, 30.9; 3. Colton Joseph, UGF, 43.8; 4. Lane McGill, MSU, 13.8; 5. Tyler Young, NWC, 14.1; 6. William Garrison, UMTW, 14.2; 7. Rabe Whitford, NWC, 15.4; 8. Dalton Carr, MSU, 16.0.

Steer Wrestling – 1. Jesse Brown, MSU, 9.8; 2. Kane Cartwright, UMTW, 11; 2. Marshal Ray, NWC, 10.8; 4. Newt Novich, UMTW, 12.4; 5. Kolby Bignell, UMTW 17.8.

Team Roping Header – 1. Shawn Bird, NWC, 17.9; 2. Kane Cartwright, UMTW, 27.3; 3. Chase Mitchell, MSU, 25.7; 4. Bridget Howell, MILES, 27.5; 5. Brogan Bennett, UM, 7.6.

Team Roping Heeler – 1. Zach Schweigert, NWC, 17.9; 2. Michael Vines, UMTW, 27.3; 3. Kaleb Tredway, MSU, 27.3; 4. Logan Nielsen, MILES, 27.5; 5. Byer Davis, UM, 7.6.

Barrel Racing – 1. Tenley Keller, MSU, 35.50; 2. Kaela Murphy, MSU, 35.66; 3. Jaime Riley, UMTW, 36.40; 4. Abigail Knight, 35.50; 5. Connlee Gray, UMTW, 36.59;

Breakaway Roping – 1. Connlee Kay, UMTW, 13.8; 2. Lauren Reiser, MSU, 17.1; 3. Jade Gorrell, UMTW, 17.6; 4. Madison McLaughlin, UM, 4.0; 5. Sierra Collins MSU-N, 4.4.

Goat Tying - 1. Jaylyn Garrison, UGF, 17.2; 2. Sarah Wright, MSU, 17.8; 3. Allison Wittkoop, MSU, 18.9; 4. Lauren Reiser, MSU, 18.9; 5. Jessie Orahood, DAWSON, 19.7.