SE Well Represented at PBR Events

DURANT, Okla. – Five past, present, and future Southeastern rodeo athletes have earned their way into top rodeos hosted by the PBR, with Wyatt Rogers, Caden Bunch, and Hayden Harris competing in the PBR event in Fort Worth, Texas, while Jarvis Demrey and incoming freshman Kieley Walz have earned spots in Kid Rock's Rock N' Rodeo.
 
The 2024 Unleash the Beast Professional Bull Riding Finals taking place at two different venues will feature 40 of the top Professional Bull Riders competing for the largest prize of $3.3 million.
 
Wednesday, May 15th & Thursday, May 16th at Cowtown Coliseum Redemption Rounds 7:45 pm
Saturday, May 18th and Sunday, May 19th, at AT&T Stadium – 7:45 pm
RidePass or Pluto TV can be viewed
 
Kid Rock N Roll Rodeo
AT&T Stadium - Friday, May 17th 7:45
Can be viewed on CBSSN Saturday @ 9:00 pm and Sunday @ 3:00 pm
 
This year's PBR finals features three bull riders with ties to Southeastern, Rogers and Harris both from Hulbert, Okla., and Caden Bunch from Tahlequah, Okla.
 
Rogers joined the Southeastern Rodeo team in the Fall of 2015 and was a past Oklahoma High School Rodeo Bull Riding Champion and competed in all timed events as well throughout college competition.  

He was the youngest rookie ever to ride in the Tuff Hedeman's Championship Bull Riding Finals.
 
All before graduating high school, Rogers had his first CBR event title winning $43,000 and scoring a 92-point ride.
 
Quoting his plans following that win from an interview "I plan on finishing college and then going for the PBR," Wyatt says. "I had a plan with my Dad; that's the plan we had imagined, so I'm just going to carry it out, and when it's my time to go to the PBR and I feel like I'm ready, I'll be able to buy my card and try to make it on tour."
 
He graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation Sports Management and again in 2022 with a Master of Science in sports Administration/Sport Studies. Rogers qualified to the CNFR twice while at SE with a top 5 finish. In his second qualification Wyatt got injured and had to watch from the sideline with a broken leg.  Following his college graduation Wyatt set his sights on getting on tour in the PBR where he has qualified to their finals two years in row. 
 
Harris came to Southeastern in the Fall of 2019 following his graduation from Tahlequah High School, and was a competitive wrestler in high school and grew up competing in all the junior bull riding associations and the Indian Rodeo Association in the junior bull riding where he was a multiple time region champion. 
 
He recently was number 6 in a pool of unrestricted free agents to be picked in the new PBR Teams draft.  Initially chosen by Austin, he was then traded to Oklahoma's Wildcatters who is coached by JB Mauney.
 
All the PBR teams had one invite to the redemption round of competition during the PBR finals allowing them a chance of qualifying to the PBR finals in AT&T stadium.  Hayden was invited from The Oklahoma Wildcatters and will enter the competition with a chance to move into the final round of competition during the PBR. 
 
Harris graduated from Southeastern in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation Sports Management.  Hayden qualified to the College National Finals three out of the four years he competed in college and was plagued with a few serious injuries of breaking his jaw having to have his mouth wired shut for weeks leading up to the CNFR and breaking his hand requiring a plate and few screws to get him going again. 
 
Bunch just finished his first year of competition in the PBR ending the year coming into the PBR finals in 10th position.  Caden will join 14 other bull riders all making their way to their first PBR finals.  Caden grew up competing in the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association Champion Bull Rider and NHSRA Champion Bull Rider and also gained many junior bull riding titles in many junior bull riding associations.    
 
He just completed his sophomore year at Southeastern being plagued with injuries along the way this season.  Caden was the Central Plains Region Bull Riding Champion last year and ended the CNFR in 4th position. 
 
The Kid Rock N Rodeo is a rodeo produced by the PBR in partnership with Kid Rock, featuring Kid Rock in concert.
 
Six teams led by a legendary head coach, will compete in bracket style competition at AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas, on May 17 for a 1-million-dollar purse.  The all-star rodeo concept is patterned after the successful formula PBR brought to bull riding through the TEAMS league launched in 2022. 
 
Each of the six teams will head-to head in barrel racing, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, tie down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, and breakaway roping.  Each event contestants will compete simultaneously on the dirt in a tournament-style bracket for the 1-million-dollar purse. 
 
In a draft format the five teams were drafted from the five legendary coaches that with two members chosen for each event during the kid rock n roll rodeo.  The sixth team chose itself through head-to-head competition during the WCRA Corpus Christi Rodeo.  The event champion from Corpus Christi along with the reserve champion in each discipline advanced to the Free Riders team coached by Bobby Mote.
 
Advancing into the Kid Rock N Roll Rodeo on the Free Riders Team are Southeastern Rodeo's Jarvis Demery in the tie down roping and incoming freshman Kieley Walz in the breakaway roping.
 
Demrey was able to stop the clock with times of 8.4, 10.3, and 7.8 qualifying him into the Triple Crown Round where he clocked the fastest time of 7.52 to win the competition. Jarvis was able to pocket 24,500 off his week at Corpus Christi which is the largest purse Jarvis has won to date.  Jarvis came to Southeastern by way of Connors State College where he previously qualified to the CNFR in the steer wrestling.  Jarvis competes in all timed events for SE rodeo. Jarvis is a occupational and safety major at Southeastern and is a junior.
 
Kieley Walz is a native of Ainsworth, Neb., but spends a lot of time in Wittman, Az., roping in the winter months.  Kieley was your 2023 National High School Breakaway Roping Champion and qualified with an automatic qualification from a qualifier series event held on New Year's Day in Wickenburg, Arizona.  Kieley was the high money winner of the day and came out as the Challenger division breakaway average winner, earning her an automatic invite to the 2023 WRWC in Fort Worth.