AMARILLO — South Plains freshman Cooper Bennett led the Texans to a top-five finish over the weekend as he captured his second bareback riding event title Saturday night at the West Texas A&M University Rodeo.
Bennett won the long round with a score of 79, which he followed up with a 74 in the finals, capping the event with 180 points for the Texans who finished fifth overall with 250 points. Bennett also won the bareback event title in week one at the Eastern New Mexico University Rodeo.
The Lady Texans, who finished second overall in the team standings with 135 points placed two cowgirls in the breakaway roping finals as Delaney Kunau took fifth and Kody Criswell placed seventh. Kunau ended the event with 75 points, turning in a time of 2.6 in the long round before clocking a 4.7 in the finals, ending with a 7.30 average. Criswell also ran a 2.6 in the long round before clocking a 12.7 in the finals, tacking on 35 points for the Lady Texans as she finished with a 15.30 average.
Freshman Dawson Stewart wrestled his way to a fifth-place finish in steer wrestling as the Erda, Utah native turned in a time of 4.7 in the long round and a 4.6 in the finals, earning 70 points for the Texans as he finished with a 9.3 average. South Plains' Kaytlyn Miller added 100 points in the goat tying event as the freshman from Dammeron Valley, Utah placed third overall. Miller ran a 7.6 in the long round and a 6.4 in the finals to end the event with a 14.0 average.
The Texans placed two cowboys in the team roping finals as Logan Kenline teamed up with Cheeto Villiant of Clarendon College, placing eighth overall after running a 7.1 in the long run but missed in the finals to end the event with a 107.1 average. South Plains' Grady Quam and Cisco's Paden Bray won the long round with a time of 4.8 but were a no time in the finals as Bray was unable to compete.
Clarendon College won the men's division with 445 points, followed by Weatherford College, Cisco College, Odessa College, and Ranger. Tarleton State University won the women's division, followed by South Plains, Texas Tech University, Western Texas College and North Central Texas College.
South Plains will take a week off before ending the fall season at the Texas Tech University Rodeo Oct. 25-27 in Lubbock.
West Texas A&M University Rodeo full results: