Heading into their final competition this semester, the win streak continues for Tarleton State University’s men’s rodeo team.

The Tarleton cowboys returned from the Howard College Hawk Rodeo, held April 12-14 in Big Spring, Texas, with their fourth-straight team championship while the women’s team ran a close race to finish second behind Texas Tech.

In bareback riding, Tarleton’s men took four of the top five positions with Jake Self winning the title after earning 155 points. Self continues his streak of great rides and currently leads the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Southwest Region year-end standings.

Also in the bareback competition, Richmond Champion and Joel Schlegel tied for second and third, respectively, with 125 points apiece. Craig Wisehart closed out the top five with 70 points.

Schlegel currently holds the No. 3 spot in the regional standings, followed by Wisehart at No. 4 and Champion at No. 6.

Tate Owens placed third in the average of the saddle bronc riding with a score of 72 in the long-go, and a 74 in the short-go. At Howard College, he collected a total of 110 points to move into the No. 2 spot in the regional standings.

In the bull riding competition, Nic Lica took first place after scoring 87 points and finishing second in the average. Robert Rosario also represented the Tarleton team well and finished fifth in the average. Both cowboys are among the top 12 bull riders in the year-end standings.

Clayton Shaw earned the top spot in the calf roping event, finishing with a 9.4-second effort in the long-go and a time of 9.9 in the short-go, giving him an average of 19.3 on two head. Reese Riemer took third place with a time of 20.4 on two tries. Dustin DeWinnie and Chad Williams also collected points.

Tarleton’s Kiel Rowan continues to lead Southwest Region standings, while Chase Williams is No. 3. Following last weekend’s performance, Riemer moved into the No. 4 spot.

Tim Sparing and Rowan helped the men’s team to capture their latest team championship with points earned in the steer wrestling event. Sparing finished the weekend in third place in the long round and fifth in the average. Rowan won second in the long round, but had trouble in the short round.

To conclude the Howard College Rodeo, Eric Fabian and Colton Herrera took the No. 6 spot in the short round and average in the team roping event.

For the Tarleton women’s team, Brittany Bell had a nice run of three seconds in the long round of the breakaway roping competition allowing her to return to the short round, but stiff competition left her to finish ninth in the average.

Tarleton’s cowgirls swept the top three places in the goat tying event with Tara Schroedter earning first place with a time of 10 seconds in the long round and a 9.8-second effort in the short-go. Shelby Jo Smith was just on her heels with a time of 10.5 in the long-go and a 9.7-second try in the short-go.

Rounding out the top three was Cassie Vierstra with a time of 20.5 on two tries. Courtney Danylo also qualified for the short round in the goat tying and finished the weekend in eighth place.

Schroedter is currently holding on to the No. 2 position in the Southwest Region, followed by Vierstra at No. 3 and Smith at No. 8.

College rodeo fans will have the opportunity to catch the two teams in action, April 19-21, at Lone Star Arena, site of the 40^th annual Tarleton Stampede Rodeo, which will kick off at 7 p.m. each night. A Lil’ Kids Rodeo will be part of the action Thursday night, beginning at 6.

The Tarleton Stampede serves as the final rodeo for the NIRA Southwest Region. Year-end standings for both the men’s and women’s divisions will determine which cowboys and cowgirls will qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo, June 10-16, in Casper, Wyo.

Tickets to the Tarleton Stampede Rodeo are $8. Tarleton students and children under age 12 are admitted free.

For more information about Tarleton’s rodeo program, please visit www.tarleton.edu/rodeo or www.collegerodeo.com.