Men's Rodeo Secures Eight-Straight Ozark Region Title at Northwest Mississippi
Senatobia, Miss., (April 28, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's finished their regular seasons with the Northwest Mississippi rodeo in Senatobia, Miss., over the weekend The men's team sealed an eighth-straight Ozark Region title.
In bareback riding, the Viking cowboys finished with the top two riders in the average. Sophomore Kooper Heimburg (San Tan Valley, Ariz.) finished first overall with a 152 in the average. He won the first go-round with a 77, and placed second in the second go-round with a 75. Heimburg earned 170 points. Finishing second in the average was Senior Ty Pope (Waverly, Kan.) with a 143. Pope was third in the first go-round with a 67, then won the second go-round with a 76. He earned 150 points. Senior Colt Eck (Redfield, Kan.) also earned 20 points after placing fifth in the first go-round with a 41.
The men's rodeo team also produced three of the top four finishers in the saddle bronc riding average. Pope was first overall with a 138 in the average. He finished third in the first go-round with a 64, then won the second go-round with a 74 to earn 160 points. Senior Tyler Freeman (Cadiz, Ky.) was second in the average with a 135. He won the first go-round with a 68 then placed second in the second go-round with a 67. Freeman earned 160 points. Sophomore Walker McAbee (Woodruff, S.C.) was fourth in the average after a score of 31 in the first go-round. He earned 60 points.
Senior Easton Kirby (Lancaster, Iowa) scored points in calf roping, placing fifth in the second go-round with a 10.5, and sixth in the average with a 22.6 to earn 30 points. Kirby then paired with Junior Kenlie Raby (Mt. Vernon, Ark.) in team roping, and the two finished third in the average with a 20.0. The team was fourth in the first go-round with a 7.8 and fifth in the second go-round with a 12.2 to earn a total of 90 points.
Individually for the women's team, Sophomore Gabby Roberts (Harrison, Ark.) placed fourth in the goat tying average with a 14.6. She was fourth in the second go-round with a 7.0 and earned 60 total points. Also in goat tying, Raby and Freshman Addison Williams (Harrisburg, Ark.) were both tied at sixth in the average, each with a 14.9. Both earned 30 points respectively.
In the team standings, the Viking cowboys finished second overall with 640 points. Northwest Mississippi won the rodeo with 650 points. The women's team placed fifth with 150 points. West Alabama won the women's rodeo with 380 points.
The men's rodeo team captured an eighth-straight Ozark Region championship following the rodeo at Northwest Mississippi. The team entered the weekend with a point total of 7,125 points. Second place in the standings was West Alabama with a point total of 3,530. Official final team and event standings in the Ozark Region will be released later this week.
Results-Click Here
ABOUT MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE
Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.