EMCC to be represented by pair of team roping tandems at College National Finals Rodeo

SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College will be represented by a pair of team roping tandems at this week's College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. The week-long collegiate rodeo championships will begin Sunday (June 11) and continue through Saturday (June 17) at the Ford Wyoming Center.

Featuring the return of reigning CNFR participants and current Ozark Region team roping champions Cooper Cowan and Cade Cowan, the EMCC Lions will also have first-time CNFR qualifier Koby Sanchez joining CNFR returnee Tanner Brown at this year's national championship rodeo event. EMCC's two team roping tandems will compete Monday and Tuesday during three rounds of slack and performance competitions in an attempt to qualify for Saturday night's championship round.

With EMCC finishing the regular season ranked 16^th in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) overall standings with 4,665 men's team points, the Lions again fell just one place shy of qualifying as a team for the upcoming CNFR after claiming third-place Ozark Region honors for the third consecutive year. The top two men's and women's teams as well as the top three student-athletes in nine individual events from each of the NIRA's 11 regions have earned the opportunity to compete at nationals.

The Cowans, products of Marshall Academy, enter this year's College National Finals Rodeo as the nation's top team roping tandem after combining for 2,100 total points between them through 10 regular-season Ozark Region rodeos. Cooper, the header of the team roping brothers, compiled 1,140 total points and five wins this past season to finish ahead of second-place Jace Hanks, from Utah Valley University, by 170 points. Cade, who serves as the duo's heeler, trailed national leader Wyatt Ahlstrom, of UVU, by just 10 points (970-960) after notably advancing to the top four in the prestigious Resistol Rookie Roundup event held in Fort Worth, Texas rather than opting to compete at the Ozark Region regular-season finale hosted that same week by Northwest Mississippi Community College.

During their two seasons together competing for East Mississippi, the Cowans have paired to claim seven Ozark Region team roping event wins, including four titles this season. After earning back-to-back victories at rodeos hosted by the University of West Alabama and Three Rivers College during the fall portion of the schedule, the brother tandem opened the spring slate in mid-March with a home win at EMCC's rodeo held at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center in Meridian and then prevailed a month later at the University of Tennessee at Martin-hosted event. A year ago, the Cowans captured three team roping titles (Southern Arkansas, Murray State & EMCC) en route to qualifying for the 2022 CNFR, where they placed 25^th overall after failing to post scores during the first and third rounds.

The Lions' other CNFR-qualifying team roping tandem comprised of Sanchez (Ethel, LA) and Brown (Florence) finished third among the Ozark Region standings this season with 615 points apiece. Highlighted by a winning effort of 5.5 seconds in the second round, the duo earned first-place overall honors at the Pearl River Community College-hosted rodeo after finishing a combined four-tenths of a second faster (12.2) than UT Martin's tandem of Will McCraw and Cole Walker (12.6) over the two rounds of competition. Sanchez and Brown then closed out the regular-season slate with a second-place team roping finish at the Northwest Mississippi event.

Brown, who placed fourth among this season's Ozark Region tie-down roping standings with 435 total points, will be making a second straight appearance at the national championship after finishing 15^th in the event at last year's event. This year will mark his CNFR team roping debut.   

This year's College National Finals Rodeo is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN3 with expanded livestream coverage beginning Tuesday (June 13) and running through Saturday night's finals. ESPN3 is available by downloading the ESPN app from the App Store or Google Play. ESPN3 is also available for online viewing at ESPN.com.

Following three rounds of slack and performance competitions that take place through Friday night (June 16), the top 12 qualified contestants from each of the nine events will advance to Saturday evening's championship round. Online results from this year's CNFR are scheduled to be available throughout the week at CNFR.com.

Showcasing more than 400 collegiate cowboys and cowgirls from four-year universities and two-year junior colleges located throughout the country, the College National Finals Rodeo is where the NIRA annually crowns individual event champions in saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, team roping, barrel racing, breakaway roping, and goat tying.