EMCC rodeo teams prepare for this week’s Ozark Region collegiate rodeo to be held at West Point’s Eagle Ranch
As they prepare to host this week’s Ozark Region collegiate rodeo to be held Thursday-Saturday at West Point’s Eagle Ranch, the East Mississippi Community College rodeo teams placed second in the women’s division and sixth in the men’s competition during this past weekend’s Boll Weevil Stampede hosted by the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
MONTICELLO, Ark. – As they prepare to host this week's Ozark Region collegiate rodeo to be held Thursday-Saturday at West Point's Eagle Ranch, the East Mississippi Community College rodeo teams placed second in the women's division and sixth in the men's competition during this past weekend's Boll Weevil Stampede hosted by the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The three-day event concluded Saturday at the Drew County Fairgrounds.
In collecting 230 team points, the EMCC women finished as runners-up to Ozark Region front-runner Troy University by just 10 points. Headlining the Lady Lions' performances was freshman Hayley Jo Knox's winning effort in the breakaway roping competition. The freshman from Olin, N.C., reeled in the maximum 180 points with times of 2.4 seconds in the long-go and 2.9 in the short-go.
Also scoring points for the EMCC women was sophomore Kellie Hailey, of Macon's Central Academy, who collected the team's other 50 points with her fifth-place finish in the goat tying event.
Entering the Arkansas-Monticello rodeo in third place in the Ozark Region men's standings, the EMCC Lions totaled 195 points by scoring in two events. Collectively, EMCC earned a total of 90 points in the calf roping competition between the combined efforts of Riley Grisham (40 pts), Tyler Watt (30) and Scooter Scarbrough (20).
Grisham, a freshman from Kiln's Hancock High School, also earned 105 points individually for EMCC while pairing up with Ben Runyon of Missouri Valley College for third-place honors in the team roping competition.
The University of Tennessee at Martin and Missouri Valley College maintained their top two rankings among the Ozark Region's season team standings by placing first and second at this weekend's Arkansas-Monticello rodeo with 795 and 570 team points, respectively.
The third event of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association's 2013 Ozark Region spring schedule, this week's EMCC-hosted rodeo will begin Thursday and continue through Saturday at West Point's Eagle Ranch. Performances will begin at 7 p.m. the first two nights and at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Ticket prices each day will be $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children aged five years and younger will be admitted free of charge throughout the three-day event.