LUBBOCK — The South Plains College men's and women's rodeo teams traveled 30 miles down highway 114 to the Texas Tech Equestrian Center over the weekend to compete in the Texas Tech University Rodeo.
It would be safe to say things went well as the Lady Texans captured the women's overall team title and 276 points. The Texans found their stride as well picking up 270 points and a third-place overall finish.
The Lady Texans now sit atop the Southwest Regional standings with 841 points. Weatherford College placed second over the weekend with 235 points, while West Texas A&M, Eastern New Mexico, and Tarleton State rounded out the top five.
Sophomore Jenna Dallyn won the women's all-around title and led the Lady Texans with 230 points. Dallyn finished third in goat tying after running a 6.9 in the long round followed by a 7.3 in the short round to finish with a 14.2 average. Dallyn would then go on to place fourth in breakaway roping thanks to a 2.2 run in the long round and a 3.6 mark in the short round to end the stint with a 5.8 average.
Dallyn was joined by teammate Avery Gonzales in the goat tying finals on Saturday night as the sophomore from Peralta, New Mexico placed ninth overall thanks to a 7.2 long round time followed by a run of 8.5 in the short round to conclude with a 15.7 average and six points.
South Plains' Kody Criswell paired up with Haley Danley of Tarleton State in team roping as the duo picked up 40 points thanks to a long round time of 7.2 followed by a 12.4 in the short round to finish with a 19.6 average.
"Overall, any time you come into a rodeo and finish first against a competitive field is always a good thing," South Plains head coach Kerry Doster said. "With the win this weekend, we were able to jump back into first in the region ahead of Tarleton State. Our girls really put together a solid couple of days for us, and we just hope we can stay healthy and keep it going."
Sophomore Chet Boren won the men's all-around title as the Vernal, Utah native took second in steer wrestling and third in tiedown roping, leading the Texans with 205 points. Boren, the defending Southwest Regional champion in steer wrestling ran a 6.1 in the long round and a 4.8 in the short round to finish with a 10.9 average and 125 points. Boren would then run a 9.9 in the long round in tiedown roping followed by an 8.9 in the short to finish with an 18.8 average and 80 points.
Zack Kirkpatrick continued his tear in steer wrestling with a fifth-place finish. The sophomore from Crosbyton, Texas ran a 6.9 in the long round followed up with a 6.3 in the short, finishing with a 13.2 average and 50 points for the orange and blue. Kirkpatrick was joined by fellow Texans Britton Bedke and Chase Wilson who placed eighth and ninth in steer wrestling. Bedke used a 6.6 in the long round and a 12.7 in the short to finish with a 19.3 average. Wilson ran a 6.3 in the long round followed by a 14.7 in the short and finished with a 21 average and 15 points.
Kade Sherwood would cap off the weekend with a second place finish in team roping. The Wilson, Texas native paired up with Ranger's Weston Podzemny as the duo used a long round time of 5.5 followed by a 4.7 in the short round picking up 110 points.
"We were just looking for a little spark, and we found it this weekend," Doster said. "Chet won the men's all-around title and our guys just went out and did their part. Anytime you have two kids go out and win the men's and women's all-around titles, it's definitely a good weekend. We were really pleased with their performances, and now we have to go out and get ready for our last rodeo of the fall season here in a couple weeks when we go to Sul Ross."