East Mississippi Community College set to host intercollegiate rodeo this week in Meridian

SCOOBA – Exciting collegiate rodeo action returns to Meridian this week when East Mississippi Community College hosts its annual intercollegiate rodeo at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center for the second straight year.  The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association-sanctioned event, presented by HMR Veterans Services, Inc., begins Thursday and runs through Saturday night's finals.

Gates open at 7 p.m. nightly during the three-day, EMCC-hosted event.  Tickets are $10 at the door for adults and $5 for students, while admission is free for children age 5 and younger.  The rodeo will also feature a calf scramble for children ages 6-10 and a pig scramble for children age 5 and younger.

Marking the spring season opener for the NIRA's Ozark Region, the event will feature about 250 cowboys and cowgirls representing teams from 14 colleges and universities located in the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Michigan.  Local competitors include teams from EMCC, the University of West Alabama and Mississippi State University.  Participants are scheduled to compete in bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, breakaway roping, barrel racing and goat tying.

"This is a special rodeo for our team," EMCC head rodeo coach Morgan Goodrich said.  "It is hard for friends and family to make it to the other rodeos because most of them are held so far away.  This is a great opportunity for our local residents to come out and support the team and enjoy a nice night of family fun."

Riding the success of back-to-back national Top 10 men's team finishes the past two years at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, the EMCC Lions begin the spring portion of the 2017-18 rodeo schedule ranked 23^rd nationally and fourth within the NIRA's Ozark Region standings with 1,630 total points.  A year ago, the East Mississippi men qualified for their first-ever CNFR team appearance by finishing as the 2016-17 Ozark Region reserve champions (runners-up).

This season, the EMCC Lions again feature several competitors ranked high among the Ozark Region individual leaders.  Tristan Martin (Sulphur, La.) currently tops the steer wrestling regional standings with 465 points.  Jace Harris (Vilonia, Ark.) ranks second among the team roping heeler leaders with 385 points, while Kemper Academy product Jacob Watt presently sits third in the team roping header standings with 250 points.  In addition, Dalton Thames (Robertsdale, Ala.) is ranked second among the region's top bull riders with 150 points.