Final regional rodeos in Winner, Watertown prepare top high schoolers for state finals

Marcus Traxler, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·4 min read

Jun. 13—WINNER, S.D. — The final weekend of regional competition for the South Dakota High School Rodeo Association came to a close on June 10-11, with cowboys and cowgirls making a final push to the state finals in Fort Pierre.

In the River Region rodeo at Winner, Burke's Piper Hanson led the girls cutting competition for the weekend scoring 19 points. She had a 71-point ride to take second in the first performance, followed by a 72 to win the second go-round. Kate Havlik, of Kimball, tied for third in goat tying scoring with 14 points. Her top time of the weekend was 8.63 seconds.

In boys cutting, Winner's Garret Phillips scored 15 points, good for third place, with a top score of 71.5. Roper Moore, also of Winner, scored 12 points with a top score of 73 to win the second go-round. Phillips was also second in the reined cow horse competition, scoring 17 points over two performances, with a top score of 142.5. Seth Heath, of Colome, was third for the weekend with 14 points, with a top score of 129 points.

In steer wrestling, Winner's Rowdy Moore had the third-best weekend score, scoring 16 points. Dalton Moore, of Lower Brule, led the weekend with 18 points, and Reliance's Swade Reis is fifth in points with seven points. Reis was also fourth in tiedown roping weekend points with 10.

Phillips and Dalton Moore finished the weekend with 11 points in team roping, good for third place. Sutton Vanderpol and Teigan Vanderpol, both of Geddes, had the top time of the second go-round in 10.08 seconds and were fourth in weekend points.

The South Dakota High School Rodeo finals begin on Thursday, June 15 in Fort Pierre, with each athlete getting two performances each over Thursday's and Friday's rodeos. The top-15 point scorers for the entire regional and state rodeo circuit will compete in Saturday's final round.

Points from the state rodeo plus points from their three-best regional rodeos (go-rounds) will decide the national qualifiers. The top-four point-earners from the season will be eligible to qualify for the National High School Rodeo Finals on July 16-22 in Gillette, Wyoming.

In breakaway roping, Megan Marone, of Pukwana, and Daisy Dean, of Platte, each finished tied for third in the weekend points with 10. Marone was powered by the first-go winning time of 3.30 seconds, while Dean won the second go-round in 3.05 seconds. Rehme Dibbet, of Geddes, finished fifth in weekend points with eight points.

Bull rider Kaktis Carlson, of Winner, was second in weekend points with a qualifying ride of 59 in the first-go. He finished only behind White River's Rhone Schmidt, who scored 66.

In Watertown, where the East Region rodeo took place, Wessington Springs' Raylee Fagerhaug led the weekend in barrel racing with 15 points, with a fastest time of 16.46 seconds. Wagner's Shada Beeson was fastest in the first-go in 16.292 seconds, while Canistota's Taylor McGregor was second-fastest in 16.451. Beeson and McGregor were fourth and fifth in total points for the weekend, respectively. McGregor also had the fastest time in the first pole bending run in 20.008 seconds and tied for second in weekend points in that event with 10.

Salem's Michaela McCormick won the first-go in the goat tying in 6.78 seconds and scored 18 weekend points, finishing only behind Colman's Josie Mousel. Tierney Breen, of Woonsocket, finished fourth in points with 13, with a top time of 7.19 seconds. Fellow Woonsocket athlete Bailey Feistner was second in points in the reined cow horse with 17 points and a top score of 121, while Parkston's Kacy Goehring had a top score of 123 in her second performance and scored nine points.

Lake Andes' Christopher Nelson led the saddle bronc with 19 points, including a top ride of 70. In steer wrestling, Terran Talsma, of Springfield, won both performances with times of 4.51 and 4.95 seconds to score a perfect 20 points.