Trips to South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals secured on final region rides

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

Jun. 13—WATERTOWN — The South Dakota High School Rodeo regional performance schedule came to a close over the weekend, with trips to the state finals in Fort Pierre now secured for hundreds of top cowboys and cowgirls.

At the East Region rodeo in Watertown, Letcher's Mason Moody was the top bull rider, with rides of 68 and 67 points, earning 19 season points on the weekend. He also tied for the event lead in tiedown roping with the best time of the second-go in 14.66 seconds, scoring 18 points for the weekend.

Samantha Ford had a solid weekend, taking first place in barrel racing with a total of 17 points, including winning the first go in a time of 16.623 seconds. Shada Beeson, of Wagner, and Brooke Knoll, of Avon, tied for third with 11 points.

Payton Tobin, of Wessington Springs, had a pair of qualifying rides in the bareback riding event, scoring 19 points on 56- and 49-point rides, respectively, scoring 19 points.

In breakaway roping, Swayze Ness, of Kimball, won the second-go in a time of 2.870 seconds, tying for the weekend point total with 10 points with Aurora's Keylee Zancanella. Summer Beeson, of Wagner, had a top ride of 3.53 seconds to tie for third place on points for the weekend.

In goat tying, Michaela McCormick, of Salem, was the winner of both rounds of competition, with times of 7.57 and 7.43 seconds for a full 20 points. Raylee Fagerhaug, of Wessington Springs, was third in weekend points with 15. Fagerhaug was also the top area scorer in the pole bending, finishing fifth in points for the weekend with a top time of 21.387.

In reined cow horse, Woonsocket's Bailey Feistner and Victoria Buffington, of Huron, each scored 18 points, with 126.5-point rides. Mitchell's Samanatha Ford had the top ride of the weekend with 136 points in the first go, but did not score on the second run, finishing with 10 points, third-best for the weekend in the event.

Sydney Stahl of Kimball, was second on the region weekend with 17 points in the girl's cutting. She had a top score of 65.5.

In saddle bronc, Lake Andes' Christopher Nelson had a pair of qualifying rides of 60 and 51 to score 20 weekend points. Kade Odens, of Scotland, was third in the steer wrestling with a top time of 6.92 seconds, good enough to win the first go. He was third for the weekend on points with 10.

In team roping, Trey Moody, of Woonsocket and Garret Varliek, of Geddes, scored 14 points for the weekend, which was second best of all competitors in Watertown. Royce Bruns, of Plankinton and Josie Mousel, of Colman, won the second-go with a time of 8.310.

WINNER, S.D. — In the River Region, Pukwana's Megan Marone had the top barrel racing time of the weekend, winning the second-go in 17.134 seconds. Caysen Gran, of Kennebec, was second in that performance in 17.274, leaving both in the top-three in weekend points earned. Gran also finished fifth for the weekend in breakaway roping, while Marone was fourth in pole bending, with her best time clocking at 21.74 seconds.

In bull riding, Riley Shippy, of Colome, had the top ride of the second-go with a 69 and scored 10 points for the season total. Mark Sandquist, of Trail City, scored 77 for the best ride of the weekend.

Swade Reis, of Reliance, had the weekend's top time in steer wrestling with an 8.48 second mark in the first go and led all riders with 18 points after the weekend. He's also third for weekend points in tiedown roping.

In team roping, Chamberlain's Ty Graesser and Pierre's Tristan Spencer scored 14 points over two performances to lead the weekend. Rowdy Moore, of Winner, and Teigan VanderPol, of Geddes, had the top time of the weekend, winning the first go in 11.52 seconds and finishing the weekend tied for fourth on points.

Garret Phillips, of Winner, continued his strong season with a perfect weekend in the boy's cutting, with scores of 72 and 71 for a full 20 points on the weekend. On the girls' side, Burke's Piper Hanson did the same, winning both performances with scores of 72 and scoring 20 points for the weekend.

Phillips was third in the reined cow horse scoring, earning 16.5 points. In the saddle bronc rides, Burke's Mason Hood had rides of 68 and 65, each good for second place in their performances, to tie for the weekend lead in points scored with Wall's Gabriel Fauske.

The South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals will begin on Tuesday, June 14 at the Stanley County Fairgrounds in Fort Pierre, with the opening performances of the girls cutting and reined cow horse events. Rodeo performances will take place at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on June 16 and 17, followed by the short-go finals on Saturday, June 18, starting at 4 p.m.