Rodeo Teams Claim First & Second at East Mississippi
Meridian, Miss.., (March 18, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's rodeo teams opened their spring competition seasons at the East Mississippi rodeo in Meridian, Miss., over the weekend. The men's team captured first place, with two event winners, while the women's team placed second with one event winner.
In bareback riding, the Viking cowboys produced the top three in the average. Senior Colt Eck (Redfield, Kan.) placed first in the average with a 157. He tied for first place in both go-rounds, finishing with scores of 81 and 76, and earned 170 points. Sophomore Kooper Heimburg (San Tan Valley, Ariz.) was second in the average with a 156. He tied for first in the first go-round with an 81, and earned 145 points. Senior Ty Pope (Waverly, Kan.) was third in the average with a 155. He tied for first in the second go-round with a 76 and earned 135 points. Sophomore Dawson Honeycutt (Alamosa, Colo.) placed sixth in the average with a 141 and earned 45 points.
In saddle bronc riding, Pope finished first in the average with a 153. He was second in the first go-round with a 75, and followed with a 78 to win the second go-round. Pope earned 170 points. Senior Tyler Freeman (Cadiz, Ky.) was second in the average with a 150. Freeman won the first go-round with an 80 and earned 150 points.
Additionally, Senior Easton Kirby (Lancaster, Iowa) finished fourth in the team roping event, with a partner from Southern Arkansas. The pair posted an average of 27.4 and earned 60 points.
Senior Betsy Roemer (Jonesboro, Ark.) led the women's team with first place in the breakaway roping average. Roemer finished with a 4.6, and won both go-rounds by scores of 2.3 in each. She collected 180 points. Roemer followed by placing in a tie for fifth in the goat tying average, with a 15.5. She earned 50 points. Sophomore Gabby Roberts (Harrison, Ark.) added a sixth place finish in the second go-round of goat tying, with an 8.1, to collect 10 points.
The Missouri Valley men's rodeo team earned 815 points to take first place, followed by Southern Arkansas in second with 470 points. West Alabama won the women's rodeo with 360 points, and the Viking cowgirls followed in second place with 245 points.
Up next, the Viking rodeo teams compete at the Pearl River (Miss.) rodeo in Poplarville, Miss., Thursday through Saturday.
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