Madison County residents bring home 1st place in International Lineman's Rodeo in Kansas

Three Madison County residents were selected to participate in the annual International Lineman's Rodeo in Kansas, with two residents bringing home the top prize in the senior division.

Marshall residents Keith Griffin and Jay Tipton participated in the rodeo Oct. 14, with Griffin and Tipton taking home the top prize in the senior division on a three-man team that included Sandy Barnhill.

The International Lineman’s Rodeo began in 1984 and is held annually at the National Agricultural Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

Along with Daniel Nash, Griffin and Tipton represented Madison County by advancing to the annual international competition after winning a statewide competition in Raleigh last month.

“It feels great to win the senior division and place 7th in the world,” Griffin said in a text message to The News-Record & Sentinel.

“Jay, Sandy, and I have have competed together for a long time and it pays off when we compete as a journeyman team. I was born and raised in Madison County and it was great to represent the county. I cut my teeth here in Madison county when I started my career as a lineman.”

Approximately 1,300 competitors from across the globe competed at this year’s International Rodeo, including 60 Duke Energy participants who were selected by winning top honors in regional Duke Energy Lineman’s Rodeo events earlier this year, according to a release from Duke Energy.

Tipton and Nash spoke with The News-Record via phone Oct. 17.

"This was our first year in the seniors, and we won it," Tipton said. "We're the first team from Duke to win it. We're the only team from Duke that actually got on the stage. We've had a lot of good runs out there, and we've been very fortunate. It's been pretty awesome."

Tipton said his 17-year-old son, Troy, travels to the competition with him each year.

"It's been really fun for us," said Tipton, who has worked for Duke for 18 years. "We really enjoy it. We've done well over the years. Everybody's shooting for The Big Overall, and I think we were seventh overall. They had the most teams they'd ever had before. There's a lot going on. There's a lot of really good teams there."

According to Tipton, he and other members of the Duke Energy Carolinas West Division earned first overall in the competition two years ago, and followed that up last year with a fourth place finish overall.

Tipton joked that this year's seventh-place finish could be indicative of the tides turning due to the team's aging.

"We're starting to slow down some," he said. "We went from first to seventh in a few years. We'll see how far we fall."

Unfortunately, Nash was unable to participate in the competition, as he tore his meniscus while working from home.

Even though Nash was unable to participate in the rodeo, he said he and his family made the best of it, utilizing the time for a family vacation

Nash and his wife, Destiny, as well as their two children, Aidan and Kamdan, made the more than 12-hour drive from Marshall to Kansas together.

Nash said he earned a first place finish in the qualifying rodeo in Raleigh to earn his spot at the Kansas competition.

"You do a 50-question test, and you have 20 minutes to do it," Nash said. "Then you've got to do three events. I climbed a pole, and you've got a dummy that you're saving on a pole. The other event is an egg climb. You climb up a bucket with a string in your mouth, and the egg is down in the bucket.

"You've got to climb up the pole with the egg in your mouth, and then at the top you drop a bag down that's up there already, so you can switch them in and out. Then, you've got to put the egg in your mouth and climb all the way back down without cracking it. So, it's pretty neat."

Nash said he and his Duke co-workers would reserve time each week to practice these events. He has worked for Duke for roughly one year.

Even though he did not get to participate in the competition, he said it was rewarding enough to cheer on his work buddies.

"It's one of those injuries that you don't know why it happens, but it happens for a reason I guess," Nash said. "The company supported me through it. I love my job. I worked my way up. I was a contractor for the last eight years. I feel blessed to have got on with Duke."

Nash, who is scheduled for surgery on Oct. 25, said he wishes to thank Madison County residents Tyler Coates and Marty Rogers, who are Nash's bosses, for supporting the representatives.

Harry Sideris, Duke Energy’s executive vice president of customer experience, solutions and services, saluted lineworkers for their service to their communities.

“Our lineworkers underpin one of the most important responsibilities of Duke Energy – caring for our customers by ensuring they have reliable service and restoring that service safely and quickly when mother nature comes calling,” said Sideris. “The work they perform for our communities and for Duke Energy is critical and we could not be prouder of them as they showed off their impressive skills and shined on an international stage.”

According to Griffin, some of the best lineworkers in the world are right here in Madison.

“It was a hard place to start because of the rough terrain,” Griffin said. “I started out young climbing poles from the beginning because we couldn’t get a bucket truck to the work. Madison County has some of the best linemen around who started out the same as Jay and me, who are just as good, or better than we are.”

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Madison residents capture 1st place in International Lineman's Rodeo