SHSU Rodeo team wins big at national finals

The Sam Houston State University rodeo team walked away with a National Reserve Championship and a third place medal along with other individual awards after attending the College National Finals Rodeo in Wyoming from June 10-16.

“I am very proud of this outstanding group of athletes,” Miller said on Facebook. “They represented SHSU well.”

The men’s team as Reserve National Champions and the women’s team came in third.

Liz Combs was named National Champion barrel racer and had the American Quarter Horse Association horse of the year, and also came in 9th in the goat tying event.

Jeremy Malacon won Reserved National Champion saddle bronc rider. In the same event Sterling Crawley came in 7th and James Greeson came in 11th.

Cody Holloway was named Reserved Champion bull rider.

Taylor Price was third in the nation in bareback riding.

Tyler Gibson earned fourth in the nation in steer wrestling.

According to cnfr.com for SHSU to compete at the CNFR teams had to compete all year in one of the National Intercollegiate Rode Association’s 11 regions. The top three students of each event and top two men’s and women’s teams from NIRA will qualify for the CNFR.

The rodeo teams standing in the NIRA were 1^st for both the men and women’s team which qualified them to compete at the CNFR. The men’s team had 5,794.50 points, which was approximately 2,270 points away from the second place holder McNeese State University. The Women’s team had 2,220.50 points, which was about 220 ahead of the second place holder Texas A&M University, according to collegerodeo.com