By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MERIDIAN, Miss. – Both University of Tennessee at Martin rodeo teams soared in their spring opener at East Mississippi over the weekend as the Skyhawk men’s team brought home their first win of the season while the women’s squad equaled a season-high finish with a second-place performance.
These results mark the first win for the UT Martin men’s team since Nov. 21-23, 2019 at Murray State while the women’s runner-up effort was their third of the season (also finishing second at Three Rivers College on Oct. 13-15 and at West Alabama on Sept. 29-Oct. 1).
The Skyhawk men’s team tallied 635 points, which tied East Mississippi atop the standings. On the women’s side, UT Martin accounted for 220 points, which only trailed West Alabama (315).
Cole Walker began his big weekend with a first-place finish in the opening round of calf roping, completing the task in 8.7 seconds (1.4 seconds faster than any other competitor). He also added a fourth-place finish in average (24.0) and sixth-place effort in the short go (15.3).
A pair of Skyhawk cowgirls recorded points in breakaway roping. Savannah Moran finished fourth in the second round (3.1) and fifth in average (6.1) while Sage Thomas split fifth in the opening go with a time of 2.5 seconds.
In saddle bronc riding, Jack Smithson dominated the field. The graduate out of Springfield, Tenn. placed first with a 146 average after splitting first in the short go (70) and coming in second in the opening round (76). His 165 points earned were 55 more than any of the other three cowboys who took part in the event as he was the only one to tally points in all three phases.
Jesse Keysaer generated points in steer wrestling, placing second in the opening go (5.3) before his 5.3 carried over for a fifth-place finish in average.
A trio of UT Martin cowgirls secured points in the goat tying event, led by Emma Kate Wilder. The junior from Millington, Tenn. finished second in both average (14.6) and in the short go (7.2) while placing fourth in the opening round (7.4). Jasmin Bakri was also responsible for points in all three phases, finishing fourth in average (14.9), fourth in the first go (7.4) and fifth in the second round (7.5). Grace Bryant was the third scorer for the Skyhawks as her 7.5 seconds in the opening go was good enough for sixth place.
Five UT Martin representatives managed points in team roping. Walker and Will McCraw provided the best scores as that tandem placed second in average (13.7), second in the opening round (6.8) and fourth in the short go (6.9). Cannon Smith joined forces with Laine Moore from East Mississippi to finish fifth in both average (18.5) and in the second round (8.4). Lainey Hutchison and Nolan Gregory’s 8.8-second performance in the opening round additionally ranked sixth in the opening go.
Moran put the finishing touches on a remarkable weekend as the freshman out of Ripley, Ohio placed second with a 29.6 average. That followed third-place performances in the opening round and short go with identical times of 14.8 seconds.
Both Skyhawk squads are right back at it next week when they head to Poplarville, Miss. for a rodeo hosted by Pearl River on Thursday, March 23 through Saturday, March 25.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information