Lady Lancers vying for title

Erick J. Starkey
Posted 5/30/18

Eastern Wyoming College rodeo athletes Karissa Rayhill, Jacey Thompson and Libby Winchell will all represent the Lady Lancers at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper in June.

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Lady Lancers vying for title

Posted

CASPER – Eastern Wyoming College rodeo athletes Karissa Rayhill, Jacey Thompson and Libby Winchell will all represent the Lady Lancers at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper in June.

All three of the Lady Lancers will compete in goat tying, with Rayhill also competing in barrel racing. EWC rodeo coach Jake Clark said it is rare to have three competitors all qualify in the same event.

“They’re very hard working, talented young ladies,” he said. “They’re all similar, but different. They each have their own style, but they know how it works and they know how to win… I think they’ll feed off each other and push each other in a positive way. To have teammates there in the same event, that’s hard to do. It’s rare because it’s so hard to get there.”

The Lady Lancers get four events at the CNFR because the team finished second in the region with 2,080.33 points during the rodeo season. Gillette College won the region with 3,640 points. The second-place finish earned the Lady Lancers four spots in Casper. Clark said it has been 3-4 years since the last time one of EWC’s rodeo teams qualified for the CNFR, instead of just individually.

Rayhill had a solid season, finishing first in the region in goat tying, finishing the season with 757 points. Thompson was not far behind, snagging third in the event with 645 points on the year. Winchell battled injuries throughout the season and missed some action in the arena, but still placed eighth in the final standings, racking up 358.3 points.

“One thing I’ve noticed about this group is their work ethic,” Clark said. “They’ve been working on these skills for the last decade through youth rodeos and growing up. I feel like they’ve perfected it so well that they can make a bad situation good.”

At the end of the season, Rayhill finished 13th in the barrel racing standings with 185 points on the year.

The three Lady Lancers are the only EWC rodeo athletes to represent the team in Casper, including the men. A season ago, EWC had five ropers, all from the men’s division, qualify for the CNFR.

“Your identity changes all the time in this sport,” said Clark, who now has had 101 athletes qualify for the CNFR during his time at the helm of the program. “One year you’re a roping school, the next year you’re a goat tying school. In my 21 years, I’ve been every kind of school. You just try to recruit good athletes. I don’t like labeling us, that’s just how it lays out.”

Whether EWC is labeled a goat tying school this year or not, the Lady Lancers will have a week full of goat tying, as well as some barrel racing, during the CNFR that runs June 8-16 at the Casper Events Center.

“It’s an endurance contest up there. Its four head. You want to be quick, but you also need to be consistent,” Clark said. “You just have to go make your runs and let it fall where it does. You just go there and do what you’ve been perfecting, but you definitely want to try and win.”