ENMU women's rodeo team remains in title hunt

Staff report

Hayden Segelke finished fourth in goat tying Tuesday in the second round as the Eastern New Mexico University women’s rodeo team kept itself in position to possibly win its first national title since 1983.

ENMU is tied for third with 180 points after two complete rounds of the week-long College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming.

The leader is Central Arizona College with 197.5 points.

Segelke, a junior from Snyder, Colorado, was the average leader after two rounds with a time of 12.8 seconds. Teammate Keely Weger is all but assured of advancing to Saturday’s short-go in goat tying after tying for the second-fastest time in the still-to-be completed third round. Her three-head total is 20.7 seconds.

Weger also has a chance to advance to the short-go in breakaway roping with a strong third round.

Teammates Taylor Smith and TiAda Gray are still up to rope in the third round.

The top 12 in average in each event advance to Saturday’s championship round.

“Lots of things can happen,” ENMU rodeo coach Albert Flinn said. “We still have an opportunity to win it.

“At least we’re not dead in the water.”

On the men’s side, ENMU’s Logan Medlin and partner Billy Bob Brown of Tarleton State are fifth in average after two rounds of team roping.

After posting the fastest time Monday, the best they could do was 9.3 Tuesday for a two-head total of 14.1 seconds, which is a little less than three seconds off the lead.