CHADRON – The Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Lancer rodeo team traveled to Chadron State College for the first college rodeo of the fall. To kick the season off, seven Lancer athletes made it back to short-go Sunday. 

Both the Lancer rodeo mens and womens teams placed fifth. The mens team collected 180 points on the weekend and the womens team posted 130 points. It was a great first rodeo for the Lancer team to get things kicked off and rolling.

It was a successful weekend for Eli Leppell, of Keene, North Dakota. The freshman came back to the short-go in three events.

Leppell laid down a 10.2-second run in the long round of the bulldogging which placed him sixth coming into the short-go. He ended the weekend 10th in the average. Leppell also competed in the team roping with his header Jace Hurlburt, of Arcadia, Nebraska. 

Hurlburt is a sophomore at EWC. She turned two very nice steers, while Leppell cleaned them up on the backside. In the long-round Hurlburt and Leppell made a solid 11.2-second run, placing them fifth coming into the short-round. In the short-go, the two Lancers made an astonishing run of 8.4 seconds to clinch the aggregate for the weekend. 

In the bulldogging, Taydon Gorsuch of Gering, and Wyatt Hajny of Nelson, Nebraska, both stayed consistent and on point. In the long-go, Gorsuch laid down a 15-second run due to a broken barrier, while Hajny laid down a 6.5-second run. 

On Sunday, both bulldoggers kept it clean. Hajny made a 7.8-second run to sneak into fourth in the average for the weekend. Gorsuch knew he needed to be fast and he did just that with a 4.4-second run to place second in the short go and seventh in the average for the weekend.  

In the calf tying, Colton Zimmerman knew what needed to be done. In the long go the Lancer from Wellington, Colorado, laid down a 14.6-second run to land him 10th in the average after having some tough luck in the short-go. 

Bareback rider Cian Daly from Saskatchewan, Canada, covered both horses this weekend. In the long-go, Daly made a 65-point ride, followed by a 64-point ride on short-go Sunday, putting him at 129 on two head. Overall, Daly ended the weekend ninth in the average. 

The Lancers will be competing next in Riverton from September 20-22.