Couch Paces Storm at GCCC Rodeo

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Mason Couch turned in a men's all-round championship along with his steer wrestling title to lead Southeastern to a second place finish in the men's standing at the Garden City CC Rodeo, while Mataya Eklund helped lead the women to a fourth place finish.
 
Couch split 5^th/6^th in his first run with a 4.8 in the steer wrestling, but came back faster in the finals with a 4.3 which split 2^nd/3^rd and his average mark was enough to win the event overall.
 
He was joined in the finals of the event by Gus Franzen and Rodney Jackson, with Franzen finishing fourth in the first round with a 4.7 and Jackson placing seventh with a 4.9.
 
Franzen would follow up with a 4.9 in the finals which was good for sixth in the round and fourth in the average, while Jackson would suffer a no time in the finals to take him out of competition.

Couch also had a finals appearance in the tie down where he again split 5^th/6^th in the opening round with a time of 10.6. He followed that up with a 10.3 in the finals which was good for third in the round and moved him to third in the average.
 
SE's other three-0man final was the bareback riding where Luke Thrash, Josh Green, and Montana Duvall each reached the finals.
 
Green turned in the best ride in round one with an 81 which won the round, while Thrash was next in line with a 78 which was good for second. Duvall rounded out the trio with a 67, making the finals in fifth place.
 
Green would follow up with a 79 in the finals which was good for second in the round and gave him the event championship.
 
Thrash came back with a 76 which split 3^rd/4^th in the round and gave him second in the average.
 
Duvall closed the competition with a 75 in the finals which was good for fifth again and he would split 5^th/6^th in the average.
 
Caden Bunch turned in an 81 in the first round of the bull riding to win the round and reach the final where he would join every other rider by not reaching the eight-second buzzer which allowed him to hang on to the top spot in the average.
 
Tyler Pruitt rounded out the Storm riders reaching the final on the men's side where he finished ninth place in the saddle bronc riding in the fort round before carding a 72 on his finals ride which was good for sixth in the round and seventh overall in the average.
 
Eklund had the team's best finish on the women's side, splitting 1^st/2^nd in the first round of the barrel racing with a run of 13.89. She followed up with a 4.18 in the finals which was good for sixth in the round and left her second in the average.
 
Three SE athletes reached the finals in the goat tying, with Bailey Witt leading the group with a 7.2 in the first round which was good for fourth, before posting another 7.2 in the finals which split 3^rd.4^th and moved her to third in the average.
 
Hannah Giger split 5^th/6^th in the first round with a time of 7.3, while Kayla Earnhardt's time of 7.4 was good for seventh in the opening round. Unfortunately, neither had much luck in the final as Earnhardt posted an 8.4 and Giger followed with a 9.8, both dropping out of the average.
 
Southeastern will be back in the arena April 13-15 when it travels to Weatherford, Okla., for the Southwestern Oklahoma State Rodeo.