The UTM rodeo teams opened the spring part of their schedule over the weekend at East Mississippi Community College, as the men’s team finished fourth and the women’s squad placed seventh.
The UTM cowboys tallied 320 points while the Skyhawk cowgirls compiled 80 points. Missouri Valley College won the men’s side with 725 points while West Alabama ranked atop the women’s standings with 385 points.
Four different UTM representatives earned points in bareback riding, led by Hunter Green. The senior from Bastrop, La. finished second across the board – tallying a 153 average after a 77 in the first round and a 76 in the short go. Stetson Bierman won the opening round with a score of 80 points before placing third in average (146) and sixth in the second go (66). Weston Hamilton’s 71 in the short go was good enough for third place while Ridge Palmer finished fifth in both average (130) and in the opening round (66).
Robbie Van Holten led UTM in calf roping, placing third in both average (22.9) and in the short round (11.6). Will McGraw finished fifth in all three phases with a 24.1 average, 10.6 in the first round and 13.5 in the short go. Finishing right behind McCraw was Ross Mitchell, who placed sixth in average (24.4), sixth in the first round (10.7) and sixth in the second go (13.7).
In breakaway roping, Casey Allen tallied a time of 2.8 seconds in the first round which earned her a fifth-place finish.
A pair of UTM cowboys posted points in saddle bronc riding. Robert Haley’s 73 points in the short round was the best in the field while Tyler Pruitt accumulated 68 points in the second go, placing third in the process.
Hunter Styles stood out for UT Martin in steer wrestling, finishing first in average (10.4), first in the opening round (4.1) and third in the short go (6.3). Craig Parks also performed well, placing second in average (14.0), second in the short round (6.1) and sixth in his opening performance (7.9). Cole Walker also registered points with his first round score of 7.5, which placed fifth in the standings.
Two UTM tandems came away with points in team roping. Jake Glass and Carson Stroup recorded points in all three phases with a 15.6 average (second), a 7.3 in the short go (second) and an 8.3 in the opening round (split fifth). Justin Sailors and Cody Hogan additionally joined forces to place fifth in both average (23.6) and in the second round (13.7).
Jayci Braudrick and Mollie Stroup found success in the barrel racing event. Braudrick finished fourth in both average (29.11) and in the second round (14.51) while Stroup split fifth with a 14.55 performance in the opening go.
UTM steps away from official competition for the next two weeks before resuming its spring schedule on March 12-14 at Arkansas-Monticello.
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