Pictured: Coy Evans receives his 1st place Award for the Men’s Tie Down Roping from Head Coach Justin Hampton.
By: Justin Hargrove, Assistant Athletic Director
The Northeast Texas Community College Rodeo team headed to the first National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Southern Region Rodeo hosted by Panola College September 22-23, and the Men’s Team returned to campus as Champions of the Rodeo.
The Men’s team was led by Coy Evans (Fort Supply, Ok) who finished 1st in Tie Down Roping, 8th in Team Roping, and second place in the All-Around Cowboy standings. Teammate Brennen Wilson (Gilmer, Texas) finished in fourth place in Team Roping with his partner Hayden Sanders (Ovalo, Texas) to also bring in team points for the Eagles. Wilson brought home points again in the Tie Down event with a fifth-place finish to earn 3rd place in the All-Around Cowboy standings.
The Tie Down competition was good to the Eagles with Howard Green (Atlanta, Texas) bringing home second place to give NTCC a First, Second, and Fifth place in the event.
Parker Jones (Solvang, CA) teamed up with Evans for the Team Roping event to help bring home the championship buckle for the NTCC Men’s Team.
For the Women’s team, Makenzie Mayes brought home points with a fourth-place finish in the Barrel racing event.
Both teams will have a week off before they head south to the second Southern Region Rodeo hosted by Southwest Texas College in Uvalde, Texas October 5-7.
NTCC competes in the Southern region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association with Hill College, Louisiana State University-Alexandria, McNeese State University, Panola College, Sam Houston State University, Southwest Texas Junior College, Stephen F. Austin University, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Trinity Valley Community College, and Wharton County Junior College. The Eagles will compete in ten total College Rodeo’s in hopes of qualifying for the College National Finals Rodeo.
The College National Finals Rodeo is held in Casper, Wyoming each summer. The CNFR is the best of the best in college rodeo. It is where the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association crowns individual event champions in saddle bronc riding, bare back riding, bull riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, breakaway roping, and goat tying. National team championships are also awarded to both men’s and women’s teams. Over 400 cowboys and cowgirls from over 100 universities and colleges compete in Casper each year. Contestants compete all year in one of the NIRA’s 11 regions for a chance to rope or ride at the CNFR.
