Northern rodeo finishes fall portion of schedule

Over the course of the fall portion of their schedule, the Montana State University-Northern rodeo teams have performed well. The Lights and Skylights continued to ride well at the Montana Western rodeo in Dillon to conclude the fall portion of their season.

“It was another solid performance,” MSU-N head coach Doug Kallenberger said. “We’re at the halfway point, we get a little break here. We won’t go till spring, but I’m very pleased with where we sit.”

The MSU-N womens’ team finished third in Dillon as they scored 195 points. Montana State University won the women’s rodeo with a score of 315 while University of Montana took second with 215 points.

Mikenna Schauer won the breakaway roping competition in Dillon with a total time of 7.3 seconds. She took third in the long go with a time of 3.7 seconds and she finished second in the short go with a time of 3.6. She finished the weekend second for best women’s all-around rider with a score of 165. Ashtyn Carlson of UM won women’s best all-around rider with a score of 215. Brittany Cox also made her mark this past weekend as she finished fifth in the long go of the barrel racing event with a time of 18.1 seconds.

The MSU-N mens’ team took sixth at the Western rodeo with a score of 170 points. MSU won the men’s rodeo with a score of 720 and Dawson Community College took second with 330 points.

Garrett Cunningham had a strong performance over the weekend as he took first in the saddle bronc competition with a total score of 135. Cunningham took first in the long go for the event with a score of 71 and he took third in the short go with a score of 64.

With the fall season over, the MSU-N womens’ team is second in the Big Sky Region standings with 1,211.00 points. Only MSU is in front of them in the standings with 2,033.83 total points. The best finish for the Skylights came when they won the second Northwest College early in the season. In every rodeo so far this season, the Skylights have finished in the top three.

The MSU-N men’s team is fifth in the standings with a total score of 1,057.00 points as they head into their break. MSU is also at the top of the standings on the mens’ side with a 3,204.50 total points on the season. The Lights' best finish came when they took third at the MSU-N rodeo in Havre last month.

“We were very consistent and I’ve never seen that with any other team that I’ve ever coached,” Kallenberger said about his teams’ performance over the course of the fall. “In rodeo, it’s all you can ask for. Consistency is what at the end of the day is going to win you a championship and they were consistent every single weekend.”

With the fall portion of their schedule done, the MSU-N rodeo teams will not compete for the next six months. As some riders use the time to heal up, others will use the time to practice, to stay sharp and prepare themselves for the spring season. MSU-N rodeo will begin the spring portion of their schedule when they head to Bozeman for the MSU rodeo from April 7-10.