STEPHENVILLE, Texas—Maintaining the program’s winning tradition, Tarleton State University’s rodeo teams closed out their 2013-14 season at the College National Finals Rodeo where the men’s team captured reserve champion team honors along with a repeat national team roping title won by senior Billy Bob Brown and a reserve champion bareback riding title earned by Richmond Champion.

Known as the “Rose Bowl” of college rodeo, Tarleton’s CNFR qualifiers represented the purple and white in grand fashion as the men’s team finished in second place a mere 25 points behind University of Tennessee-Martin, this year’s national champions who collected 755 points during the weeklong rodeo held June 15-21, in Casper, Wyo.

In addition to reserve champion team honors and Brown’s back-to-back national team roping title, the three-time CNFR qualifier won the men’s reserve champion All-Around title after earning 320 points in two events. Last year, Brown led the men’s standings and was crowned the All-Around Cowboy—a feat that was accomplished in 2014 by Sheridan College’s Taygen Schuelke who posted 415 points.

Team ropers Brown and his heeling partner Logan Medlin of Eastern New Mexico University, repeated as national champions after earning 280 points in the event and a 5.7-second effort in the short-round and 26.0 in the average. The duo outpaced the competition across four rounds to earn the CNFR’s national title ahead of 2nd place Cossatot (Ark.) Community College’s Brody Braden and Tanner Caudle (185 points).

Brown, who was also this year’s National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region  All-Around champion for the second-straight season, qualified for the CNFR tie-down roping by earning 40 points and finishing 21st. Brown had runs of 9.3 and 10.1 seconds in the first two rounds with an average time of 19.4. Despite finishing out of the top 10, points from the event helped extend Brown’s lead in the All-Around standings. Tarleton’s Russell Ilse also competed in the tie-down roping but had two misses in three rounds, catching one calf for an 8.7 in the average.

In the roughstock events, Champion, who’s become known as the “Million-Dollar Cowboy” following his record-breaking performance in The American earlier this spring, continued his winning ways by earning reserve champion honors in the bareback event after collecting 255 points and finishing with a total of 314.5 points in the average. Champion, this year’s Southwest Region bareback champion, posted scores of 79.0, 74.5 and 78.0 in the long-go’s, before earning 83 points in the finals.

In saddle bronc riding, Travis Nelson put forth impressive rides to finish 8th in the final CNFR standings. Nelson scored 74.0, 66.5 and 69.5 in the long-go’s before posting a score of 68.0 in the short-go for a total of 278.0 points in the average and earning a total of 40 points.

Southwest Region reserve champion steer wrestler Jace Melvin had tough luck at the CNFR but put forth a great effort in the long-go with times of 15.9 and 4.1 before a miss in the third-go. Melvin, a junior member of the men’s team, collected 80 points and had an average time of 20.0 in his first-ever CNFR appearance.

On the women’s side, Tarleton’s cowgirls fell short of meeting their goal of winning a team or individual title but represented the program with pride en route to a 16th place finish with 112.5 points.

The women’s team had three individuals compete in the barrel race with Jaime Barrow finishing 7th overall and total time of 56.61 in the average earning 92.5 points. Barrow posted times of 14.13, 14.24 and 14.32 in the long-go’s before advancing to the finals where she ran a 13.92. Lindsey Trammell had an average time of 43.27 with times of 14.64, 14.24 and 14.39, while Shaylee Williams posted times of 19.92, 14.61 and 14.7 in the long-go’s for a 49.23 in the average.

College rodeo newcomer Baili Collins, this year’s reserve champion goat tier for the region, faced some stiff competition and had a time of 6.6 in the first-go.

For complete results of this year’s CNFR please visit www.collegerodeo.com/CNFR/CNFRResults.asp?Year=2014. To learn more about Tarleton State University Rodeo please visit the team’s homepage at www.tarleton.edu/rodeo.

Tarleton State University, a member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. With campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to engage societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.