Thursday, April 11
7 pm (public performance)
Montana State University
vs
MSU Spring Rodeo #1
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Bobcat Rodeo Team Opens Spring Season This Weekend in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
4/10/2024 4:16:00 PM | Men's Rodeo, Women's Rodeo
MSU men, women each locked in close team battles
BOZEMAN, Montana – From start to finish, the college rodeo season seems most like a marathon, covering a full academic year. In its component parts, though, it's really two sprints. The second leg of the 2023-24 Big Sky Region campaign begins in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Thursday at 7 pm with the annual MSU Spring Rodeo.
"Everyone loves the rodeo in the Fieldhouse," said Bobcat head rodeo coach Kyle Whitaker, whose MSU men's and women's teams are each locked in close team battles as the spring season begins. "All the kids have heard about it and honestly it's maybe the best atmosphere in college rodeo."
MSU's men scored 3,417.5 points during the fall season, while UM Western amassed 3,375.5 points. The Bobcats won the region at the final rodeo of the 2022-23 season in Missoula, and the Big Sy Region seems destined for another epic team battle this season. Northwest College (1,616) and MSU Northern (1,610.5) also lurk close in the team standings. UM Western "has a really good team," Whitaker said. "They have a good bareback rider (Trevor Kay) and bull rider (Gavin Knutson)," who lead the region in those events.
MSU Northern leads the women's region with 1,998.5 points, while the Bobcats ride close behind with 1,685.16 points. Those squads each feature a bona fide star. Mikenna Schauer of MSUN leads the breakaway roping and goat tying, and is also the region's top team roping header. Bobcat senior Tayla Moeykens leads the region in barrel racing and is third in breakaway roping. MSU's Breyer Newman finished second and Jessica Stevens third in the goat tying in the fall.
Montana State's men's roster changed some in the time between the end of the fall season and the team's spring debut. The Cats lost Mike Nannini, a two-time CNFR short go qualifier, and Jase Bustad to injuries, but Logan Beattie, also a one-time CNFR qualifier, returns after taking the fall semester off. "We lost a few, we added a few, we got Logan Beattie to come back out and he's a fifth year," Whitaker said. "He's talented, he's been to the CNFR in the steer wrestling."
Traver Johnson is MSU's only Big Sky Region leader entering the spring, setting the pace in the steer wrestling. Jaden Whitman is second in the steer wrestling, sixth in team roping as a header, and ninth in tie-down roping. Cole Gerhardt enters the spring second in the bareback riding and Wes Shaw is third. Wyatt Jensen is second in the tie-down roping.
Whitaker liked his team's approach and productivity during the off-season. "We made a lot of gains in the weight room," he said. "It's fun to watch those kids and see them get stronger, but also get more coordination. Trey (Stringer, the team's strength coach) had us work a lot with our core this winter and that's really important in rodeo. We've been practicing so much that I can't keep up with them, (the facility) is always full."
Still, Whitaker said the proof of that hard work comes in Worthington Arena beginning Thursday night at 7 pm. "There's a difference between going to the practice pen and being rodeo ready," he said. "You have to go to a few rodeos, even when you've been doing it a long time it's an adjustment every year when you've had a break and you go to your first rodeo again. Handling the barrier, handling the crowd, we try to make our practices as much like competition but it's tough."
#GoCatsGo
"Everyone loves the rodeo in the Fieldhouse," said Bobcat head rodeo coach Kyle Whitaker, whose MSU men's and women's teams are each locked in close team battles as the spring season begins. "All the kids have heard about it and honestly it's maybe the best atmosphere in college rodeo."
MSU's men scored 3,417.5 points during the fall season, while UM Western amassed 3,375.5 points. The Bobcats won the region at the final rodeo of the 2022-23 season in Missoula, and the Big Sy Region seems destined for another epic team battle this season. Northwest College (1,616) and MSU Northern (1,610.5) also lurk close in the team standings. UM Western "has a really good team," Whitaker said. "They have a good bareback rider (Trevor Kay) and bull rider (Gavin Knutson)," who lead the region in those events.
MSU Northern leads the women's region with 1,998.5 points, while the Bobcats ride close behind with 1,685.16 points. Those squads each feature a bona fide star. Mikenna Schauer of MSUN leads the breakaway roping and goat tying, and is also the region's top team roping header. Bobcat senior Tayla Moeykens leads the region in barrel racing and is third in breakaway roping. MSU's Breyer Newman finished second and Jessica Stevens third in the goat tying in the fall.
Montana State's men's roster changed some in the time between the end of the fall season and the team's spring debut. The Cats lost Mike Nannini, a two-time CNFR short go qualifier, and Jase Bustad to injuries, but Logan Beattie, also a one-time CNFR qualifier, returns after taking the fall semester off. "We lost a few, we added a few, we got Logan Beattie to come back out and he's a fifth year," Whitaker said. "He's talented, he's been to the CNFR in the steer wrestling."
Traver Johnson is MSU's only Big Sky Region leader entering the spring, setting the pace in the steer wrestling. Jaden Whitman is second in the steer wrestling, sixth in team roping as a header, and ninth in tie-down roping. Cole Gerhardt enters the spring second in the bareback riding and Wes Shaw is third. Wyatt Jensen is second in the tie-down roping.
Whitaker liked his team's approach and productivity during the off-season. "We made a lot of gains in the weight room," he said. "It's fun to watch those kids and see them get stronger, but also get more coordination. Trey (Stringer, the team's strength coach) had us work a lot with our core this winter and that's really important in rodeo. We've been practicing so much that I can't keep up with them, (the facility) is always full."
Still, Whitaker said the proof of that hard work comes in Worthington Arena beginning Thursday night at 7 pm. "There's a difference between going to the practice pen and being rodeo ready," he said. "You have to go to a few rodeos, even when you've been doing it a long time it's an adjustment every year when you've had a break and you go to your first rodeo again. Handling the barrier, handling the crowd, we try to make our practices as much like competition but it's tough."
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
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