Northern rodeo teams open the spring season in Bozeman

The second half of the season has finally began for the Montana State University-Northern rodeo teams as they started the spring portion of their season this past weekend. The MSU-N cowboys and cowgirls competed in a pair of rodeos from last Thursday through Saturday in Bozeman hosted by Montana State University.

The MSU-N women's team had a strong start to the spring with second-place finishes in both rodeos. While the MSU-N men's team finished fifth and sixth in its rodeos, MSU-N head coach Doug Kallenberger was happy with the start to the spring.

"This was the best start to a spring season we've ever had since I've been the coach. I'm very pleased with where we are," Kallenberger said. "For the women's side, we look as good as could be expected."

In the first rodeo of the weekend, the MSU-N women's team placed second behind MSU. University of Montana Western came in third. Several riders for MSU-N performed well to begin the spring.

Mikenna Schauer started the weekend placing third all-around in the rodeo. She placed first in breakaway roping and took tenth in goat tying. Kassidy Williamson also came out strong with an eighth place finish in barrel racing.

The MSU-N cowgirls continued to ride well with a second-place finish in the second rodeo of the weekend. MSU won that rodeo while Dawson Community College came in third. Schauer finished second all-around for her performance to end the weekend. In the second rodeo, she placed second in goat tying and sixth in breakaway roping.

Williamson also ended the trip to Bozeman on a strong note with a third-place finish in breakaway roping. Jill Marcenko rode well for MSU-N as she took seventh in barrel racing. Brittney Cox placed eight in the long go, the short round and in barrel racing to end the weekend. In their first action of 2022, Kallenberger was impressed with how the MSU-N cowgirls rode.

"I couldn't be happier with the women's team. I thought they did an extremely good job," Kallenberger said. "I couldn't be more pleased with our start."

As they began the spring portion of their year, the MSU-N cowboys were dealt a tough hand. A pair of their riders were injured, leaving the men's team with only four riders with less than a month remaining in the season.

In the first rodeo, the MSU-N men's team finished fifth. Northwest College won that rodeo while MSU took second and Western finished third. In the first rodeo, Garrett Cunningham did start strong as he took first in the saddle bronc riding competition. Lincoln Yarama placed 10th for MSU-N in the long go, short round and tie down roping.

But injuries doomed the MSU-N men's team in the second rodeo which resulted in a sixth-place finish to end the weekend. MSU won that rodeo while Northwest came in second and Western took third.

After a weekend with mixed results, the MSU-N rodeo teams now only have three more rodeos this spring. While the men's team will have to get by without a few riders, Kallenberger is optimistic heading the rest of the way and believes they just have a few things to clean up moving forward.

"I think we can be a little bit sharper all the way around in the timed events and I think we should be sharper on the barrier," Kallenberger said. "Overall, the only thing we need to work on this week is just a few fundamentals."

The MSU-N rodeo teams will next compete in a rodeo at Miles City Community College Friday and Saturday.