By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MERIDIAN, Miss. – The University of Tennessee at Martin rodeo squads began their spring schedule this weekend at East Mississippi Community College as the Skyhawk cowboys placed fourth in the men’s standings.
The UT Martin men’s team registered 440 points in the three-day rodeo, trailing only behind Missouri Valley College (940 points), East Mississippi (715) and Three Rivers College (535). The Skyhawk women’s squad also took part in the event but ran into some tough luck and did not accumulate any points.
Blake Leamon managed points in all three phases of bareback riding, finishing third in the short round (75), fifth in average (143) and sixth in the opening go (68).
The calf roping event featured a trio of UT Martin scorers. Cole Walker was responsible for the best time in the event during the first round (8.9) while Cole Harmon’s 9.6-second effort ranked third in the field. Will McCraw finished fourth in the short go with a time of 12.3 before his 23.8 average was good enough for fifth place.
In saddle bronc riding, Jack Smithson’s 64 points in the short round led to a sixth-place finish.
The Skyhawks racked up the points in steer wrestling as Logan Neal led the charge. The graduate from Spring Hill, Tenn. topped the field in average (8.8) and short round time (3.9) while finishing fifth in the first round with a 4.9. Jesse Keysaer split second in average (9.5) after placing third in the short round (4.8) and fourth in the opening go (4.7). Walker split first in the opening round (4.4) before earning fifth-place efforts in both the short round (22) and in average (26.4).
Although she was not a team scorer, Madison McFall dialed up points in both the second go (15.18, fifth) and average (30.34, sixth) in barrel racing.
UT Martin gets right back at it next week as it visits Poplarville, Miss. for a rodeo hosted by Pearl River Community College on March 24-26.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information