MSU-N riders heading to College National Finals Rodeo

While most Montana State University-Northern athletics have ended their season, the MSU-N rodeo team still has some business remaining as two of their members head to the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, this weekend.

The MSU-N men's rodeo team will be represented by freshman Rope Three Iron in the team roping competition. MSU-N head coach Doug Kallenberger has been impressed by Three Iron's maturity as a freshman which led him to winning the event in the Big Sky region this year to qualify for the national finals.

"I have never seen a freshman be so mature. He just made really smart decisions. He roped extremely smart. He knew every situation that he was in," Kallenberger said.

This season, Three Iron's partner in team roping has been Alonzo Skunkcap from the University of Montana Western. Three Iron will be the header while Skunkcap will be the heeler for the event. Even though Three Iron is just a freshman, Kallenberger believes he and Skunkcap are capable of bringing home a national championship.

"If he relies on his skillset, he'll be just fine. I could easily see him be right at the top of it at the end of it," Kallenberger said.

The other MSU-N rider competing this weekend will be Kassidy Williamson in the goat tying competition. She qualified for the national finals by serving as the Big Sky student regional director so she will be responsible for other duties, as well, this weekend. She qualified for the goat tying competition because that was the event she got most of her points in this season. Kallenberger is confident that she can put on a strong performance this weekend along with her other responsibilities.

"Kassidy had a good season. She did well in the goat tying," Kallenberger said. "Kassidy's biggest thing is to just be smooth. If she goes there and just does it smoothly and minimizes mistakes, she'll be just fine."

The top three from an event in each region across the country qualified for the national finals. In the team roping event, Three Iron and his partner Skunkcap will compete against 54 teams from across the country. In this weekend's goat tying competition, Williamson will compete against 42 other riders.

This weekend is often called the Rose Bowl of Rodeo because over a hundred schools across the country will have riders competing. Not only will four-year universities be competing in Casper this weekend but so will two-year colleges such as Miles City Community College. This will also be the first College National Finals Rodeo since 2019 because last year's finals were canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national finals will officially begin Sunday with the first three rounds that every rider participates in. The rodeo will then be finished June 19 for a final round with the top 12 riders from each event competing for a national title.

The MSU-N rodeo team has had many cowboys and cowgirls go to the College National Finals Rodeo over the years. One of their best finishes came in 1998, when Wendy Badgett placed sixth in the breakaway event. If Three Iron were to place high at the finals or even bring home a national championship, Kallenberger believes it would be significant for the program.

"That'd be huge. That would be life changing for our program, for someone to walk home with a national championship," Kallenberger said.

Three Iron and Williamson will begin competing in the College National Finals Rodeo this Sunday in Casper, Wyoming.