Photo by: Jack Power
Tayla Moeykens Leads Bobcat Competitors at Tuesday's CNFR
6/11/2024 9:56:00 PM | Men's Rodeo, Women's Rodeo
Montana State steer wrestlers and tie-down ropers perform well
Senior Tayla Moeykens kept her national championship hopes alive during the second round of barrel racing at the 2024 College National Finals Rodeo on Tuesday, leading a list of strong showings by Bobcats.
"Tayla did awesome again today," said Bobcat head coach Kyle Whitaker. "She's really doing great, she just hasn't quite gotten past Taycie Matthews yet."
Moeykens' finished second in go-round two, and her 28.02 leads those with only two of their three runs completed. Defending national champion Taycie Matthews completed her third run in 13.92 Tuesday evening performance, putting her in the lead in the average with 41.66 seconds on three runs. "Those two are pretty dominant," Whitaker said. "Taycie qualified for the NFR on that horse last year, but she didn't get to ride it because of an injury (to the horse). This is its first rodeo back. Tayla's doing phenomenal, hopefully she can keep it up and we'll see what happens."
Moeykens has now finished in the top five in nine of her 14 career runs at the CNFR, posting sub-14.00 times five times. Her next barrel racing run comes during Friday's performance, which begins at 7 pm MT. She finished fifth among the 14 athletes who competed in breakaway roping in Tuesday's performance.
Several Bobcats showed well on Tuesday, particularly in the roping events. Freshman Wyatt Jensen placed sixth in the tie-down roping, while Bode Spring was 15th. In steer wrestling Jade Whitman was 15th in steer wrestling, while Trav Johnson was 19th. "I'm pretty happy with how the tie-down ropers and steer wrestlers did" on Tuesday, Whitaker said. "Wyatt, as a freshman, placed in the (tie-down) round, that's good, and Trav and Jaden stayed consistent in steer wrestling."
In bareback riding, Cole Gerhardt's second ride earned him 73 points, 13th place in the round, while Wes Shaw scored 69.5, 19th in the round. Alexis McDonald's 14.66 in the barrel racing second round was good for 15th, while Moeykens' 3.9 seconds in the breakaway roping was 31st.
Tuesday evening's performance launched the rodeo's third go-round, which concludes with Friday's evening performance. The top competitors advance to Saturday's championship round.
CUMULATIVE MSU RESULTS
BAREBACK: Wes Shaw – 1st Go: 74.5 (15th); 2nd Go: 69.5 (19th); 3rd Go: NS.
BAREBACK: Cole Gerheardt – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: 73.0 (13th)
SADDLE BRONC: Monte Bailey – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: 70 (19th)
STEER WRESTLING: Cole Gerhardt – 1st Go: 15.2 (25th); 2nd Go: NS
STEER WRESTLING: Trav Johnson – 1st Go: 4.8 (4th); 2nd Go: 6.4 (19th)
STEER WRESTLING: Jade Whitman – 1st Go: 6.8 (14th); 2nd Go: 5.6 (15th)
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Wyatt Jensen – 1st Go: 13.6 (17th); 2nd Go: 9.0 (6th)
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Wes Shaw – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: NS
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Bode Spring – 1st Go: 11.0 (10th); 2nd Go: 10.5 (15th)
BARRELS: Tayla Moeykens – 1st Go: 14.03 (3rd); 2nd Go: 13.99 (2nd)
BARRELS: Alexis McDonald – 1st Go: 14.55 (25th); 2nd Go: 14.66 (15th)
BREAKAWAY: Tayla Moeykens – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: 3.9 (31st); 3rd Go: 3.1 (*5th)
BREAKAWAY: Meghan McGinley – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: NS
GOAT TYING: Breyer Newman – 1st Go: 6.6 (11th); 2nd Go: 7.9 (34th)
GOAT TYING: Jessica Stevens – 1st Go: 6.7 (13th); 2nd Go: 10.3 (42nd)
*-Round in progress, Tuesday's results in italics
SCHEDULE FOR BOBCATS ON WEDNESDAY, June 12
COLE GERHARDT: Steer Wrestling – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
WYATT JENSEN: Tie-Down Roping – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
BODE SPRING: Tie-Down Roping – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
JADEN WHITMAN: Steer Wrestling – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
MEGHAN McGINLEY: Breakaway Roping, Go 3/Section 2 during performance
#GoCatsGo
"Tayla did awesome again today," said Bobcat head coach Kyle Whitaker. "She's really doing great, she just hasn't quite gotten past Taycie Matthews yet."
Moeykens' finished second in go-round two, and her 28.02 leads those with only two of their three runs completed. Defending national champion Taycie Matthews completed her third run in 13.92 Tuesday evening performance, putting her in the lead in the average with 41.66 seconds on three runs. "Those two are pretty dominant," Whitaker said. "Taycie qualified for the NFR on that horse last year, but she didn't get to ride it because of an injury (to the horse). This is its first rodeo back. Tayla's doing phenomenal, hopefully she can keep it up and we'll see what happens."
Moeykens has now finished in the top five in nine of her 14 career runs at the CNFR, posting sub-14.00 times five times. Her next barrel racing run comes during Friday's performance, which begins at 7 pm MT. She finished fifth among the 14 athletes who competed in breakaway roping in Tuesday's performance.
Several Bobcats showed well on Tuesday, particularly in the roping events. Freshman Wyatt Jensen placed sixth in the tie-down roping, while Bode Spring was 15th. In steer wrestling Jade Whitman was 15th in steer wrestling, while Trav Johnson was 19th. "I'm pretty happy with how the tie-down ropers and steer wrestlers did" on Tuesday, Whitaker said. "Wyatt, as a freshman, placed in the (tie-down) round, that's good, and Trav and Jaden stayed consistent in steer wrestling."
In bareback riding, Cole Gerhardt's second ride earned him 73 points, 13th place in the round, while Wes Shaw scored 69.5, 19th in the round. Alexis McDonald's 14.66 in the barrel racing second round was good for 15th, while Moeykens' 3.9 seconds in the breakaway roping was 31st.
Tuesday evening's performance launched the rodeo's third go-round, which concludes with Friday's evening performance. The top competitors advance to Saturday's championship round.
CUMULATIVE MSU RESULTS
BAREBACK: Wes Shaw – 1st Go: 74.5 (15th); 2nd Go: 69.5 (19th); 3rd Go: NS.
BAREBACK: Cole Gerheardt – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: 73.0 (13th)
SADDLE BRONC: Monte Bailey – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: 70 (19th)
STEER WRESTLING: Cole Gerhardt – 1st Go: 15.2 (25th); 2nd Go: NS
STEER WRESTLING: Trav Johnson – 1st Go: 4.8 (4th); 2nd Go: 6.4 (19th)
STEER WRESTLING: Jade Whitman – 1st Go: 6.8 (14th); 2nd Go: 5.6 (15th)
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Wyatt Jensen – 1st Go: 13.6 (17th); 2nd Go: 9.0 (6th)
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Wes Shaw – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: NS
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Bode Spring – 1st Go: 11.0 (10th); 2nd Go: 10.5 (15th)
BARRELS: Tayla Moeykens – 1st Go: 14.03 (3rd); 2nd Go: 13.99 (2nd)
BARRELS: Alexis McDonald – 1st Go: 14.55 (25th); 2nd Go: 14.66 (15th)
BREAKAWAY: Tayla Moeykens – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: 3.9 (31st); 3rd Go: 3.1 (*5th)
BREAKAWAY: Meghan McGinley – 1st Go: NS; 2nd Go: NS
GOAT TYING: Breyer Newman – 1st Go: 6.6 (11th); 2nd Go: 7.9 (34th)
GOAT TYING: Jessica Stevens – 1st Go: 6.7 (13th); 2nd Go: 10.3 (42nd)
*-Round in progress, Tuesday's results in italics
SCHEDULE FOR BOBCATS ON WEDNESDAY, June 12
COLE GERHARDT: Steer Wrestling – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
WYATT JENSEN: Tie-Down Roping – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
BODE SPRING: Tie-Down Roping – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
JADEN WHITMAN: Steer Wrestling – Go 3/Section 2 during performance
MEGHAN McGINLEY: Breakaway Roping, Go 3/Section 2 during performance
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Men's Rodeo
/ Women's Rodeo
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