Storm Men Take Title, Women Third at KSU

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Southeastern opened the spring portion of its rodeo schedule with the men's team taking home the top spot at the Kansas State Rodeo in Manhattan, Kan., while the women turned in a third-place team finish.
 
Blake Carter led the charge for the men en route to the all-around championship after picking up a sweep in the tie down roping and adding a sixth-place overall finish in the team roping with Lucas Peterson.
 
Carter turned in a 9.5 in the first round and an 8.8 in the finals of the tie down, winning both rounds to win the average.
 
Peterson finished second in the event, splitting second with a 9.6 in the long-go before matching it with a 9.6 in the finals to finish second in the round and the average.
 
The win gives Carter a 315 point lead in the Central Plains region standings in the tie down at the midway point in the schedule, while Peterson's finish lifts him to 10^th in the region, 50 points out of third place.
 
Carter and Peterson teamed up in the team roping where they posted a 7.5 in qualifying to finish fifth, but a no time in the finals dropped them to sixth in the average.
 
Levi James paired up with Murray State's Case Phillips to clock a 7.3 to finish splitting third in the first go and followed with an 8.0 run in the final to finish second in the round and in the average.
 
James moved to eighth in the region among team roping headers.
 
SE took three of the top four spots in he bareback riding, led by Guage McBride who posted an 82 and followed it with an 84 to sweep the rounds on his way to an overall event title.
 
Tyler Griffin was right behind McBride in second overall after posting a 78 and a 79 which was good for second in each round.
 
Cole Kerner rounded out the trio in the event, posting a 67 in the first round before matching it in the second, lifting him to fourth in the average.
 
McBride moves up to seventh regionally in the bareback, with Kerner eighth and Griffin ninth, while Colton Matlock is the highest regionally ranked rider for the Storm at third.
 
Waylon Buquoi turned in a third-place finish in the bull riding, putting up a 73 in the first ride with no one riding on the second roll through.
 
Buquoi leads the region in the bull riding while Caden bunch is ranked fourth and Kerner sits in seventh.
 
Cole Beasley rounded out the men's competitors with a sixth-place finish in the saddle bronc after turning in rides of 53 and 77.
 
Beasley currently ranks 12^th in the region in the event.
 
On the women's side, Emma Ricke turned in the top finish, doing so in the barrel racing, picking up a first-round win with a time of 15.74 followed by a second-place finish in the finals on a ride of 15.89 which was still good enough to win the average.
 
Ricke currently sits in fifth regionally in the barrel racing, with Jaiden Wilmoth right behind her in sixth while Laney Hoffman ranks 15^th.
 
Ricke is also sitting in second place in the women's all-around standings at the midway point of the schedule.
 
Lauren Weller advanced to the finals in the goat tying where she clocked the best time of the opening round at 6.8 but came back with a 10.8 in the finals which dropped her to sixth overall in the average.
 
Well holds onto sixth in the regional rankings, while Jillian Pressley and Kayleah Hurst sit in a tie for eighth.
 
Emma Pecora-Smith rounded out the finals appearances for the women, splitting fifth in the breakaway roping with a 2.5 second run, but a no time in the final would take her out of the average.
 
Ricke ranks sixth in the region in the breakaway with Presley checking in at 15^th.
 
The men's finish propels them into a near tie for the top spot in the region, just six points behind the leader Fort Scott CC, while the women currently sit in third.