EMCC collects four individual titles and pair of third-place rodeo team finishes in Missouri

SIKESTON, Mo. —East Mississippi Community College collected four individual event championships to earn third-place team finishes in men's and women's competition at the Three Rivers College Championship College Rodeo held this past weekend in Sikeston, Missouri.  The three-day NIRA Ozark Region event concluded Saturday evening at the Art Saunders Arena in the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Grounds.

With the top three men's teams separated by just 45 points, EMCC's 650 team points were just 15 points shy of runner-up UT Martin.  Missouri Valley College narrowly claimed the men's team title with 695 total points.

During an equally close women's competition, only 40 points separated the top three teams.  EMCC's 200 team points trailed runner-up Southern Arkansas University by just 20 points, while the University of West Alabama nabbed the narrow team victory by totaling 240 points.

The EMCC men were led by former national collegiate champion Marcus Theriot, who earned TRC's all-around title by collecting 400 total points with event wins in steer wrestling and tie-down roping.  Along with recording the maximum 180 points with times of 4.3 and 4.4 seconds in steer wrestling, the Poplarville product claimed 150 points in his tie-down roping victory, including a first-round run of 9.7 seconds.  Theriot also paired with teammate Cole Curry (Liberty) to earn 70 points apiece in the team roping competition.

EMCC had three team roping tandems advance to Saturday's championship round, led by the winning effort of Nick Gonzales (Carriere) and Clay Green (Pine Grove, LA).  They bettered their opening-round time of 7.3 seconds with a 6.7 clocking during Saturday's final round to collect 180 team points for the Lions.

East Mississippi's other team roping duo comprised of Blair Bryant (Hatchechubbee, AL) and Zeak Shorter (Florence) earned 20 points for the women's team.

Freshman barrel racer Taycie Matthews (Wynne, AR) claimed her second title in three rodeos this fall by collecting the maximum 180 points with runs of 16.42 and 16.55 seconds this past weekend.  The 2018 International Professional Rodeo Association's world champion barrel racer previously won in her collegiate debut last month at Missouri Valley College.

Also for the EMCC women, Mikayla Joh Almond (Olin, NC) earned 70 individual points in breakaway roping and 40 points in barrel racing, while Nikayla Brill (Summerdale, AL) picked up 10 individual points in barrel racing.

Coach Morgan Goodrich's EMCC rodeo teams continue NIRA Ozark Region competition this week, Oct. 22-24, at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas.