Two WT Rodeo Athletes Near Top of Southwest Region Rankings at End of Fall Season

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A pair of West Texas A&M University rodeo athletes are ranked highly in regional standings at the close of the team’s fall season.

Sierra Sharp, a junior general studies major from Happy, is ranked second in breakaway in Southwest Region standings. Kallen Johnson, a sophomore agribusiness and economics major from Happy, is ranked second in tie-down roping.

WT Rodeo’s fall season ended with the Texas Tech University Rodeo from Oct. 28 to 30 in Lubbock. The spring season will begin Feb. 24 at Odessa College.

At the Lubbock event, Sharp was first in breakaway average and Johnson was second in tie-down roping average. Teammates Hayden Cape, a senior agribusiness major from Earth, placed second in team roping average, and Annabelle Hampton, a junior agribusiness and economics major from Casa Grande, Ariz, placed fifth in goat tying average.

“I am really proud of our team this year. They have all put the work in, and they are seeing the results,” said Coach Raymond Hollabaugh. “Kallen is definitely a competitor for a title this year, and Sierra is one of the most aggressive breakaway ropers in the region and has excelled this semester. Our men’s and women’s teams have had a lot of success this semester and I look for a great turnout in the spring. I have a feeling we will be taking a big rig to the college finals this year.”

The fall schedule also included:

• Eastern New Mexico University Rodeo from Sept. 16 to 18 in Portales, N.M.: Owen Wahlert, a senior agribusiness and economics from Grover, Colo., placed first in tie-down roping long round and first in team roping long round and fourth in average with Johnson. Johnson placed first in short-go of tie-down and first in average. Sharp placed first in breakaway long round and fourth in average. Quade Hiatt, a junior marketing major from Canyon, placed first in steer wrestling long round.
• Sul Ross State University Rodeo from Sept. 23 to 25 in Alpine: Johnson placed first tie-down roping. Wahlert placed first in tie-down roping long round. Amie Hennen, a senior sports/exercise science major from Sanger, placed second in the long round of barrel racing.
• Vernon College Rodeo from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in Vernon: Hiatt placed second in the first round of steer wrestling. Blaine Carroll, a junior ag media and communications major from Vernon, placed fourth in the breakaway long round.
• Frank Phillips College Rodeo from Oct. 7 to 9 in Canadian: Hiatt placed fifth in steer wrestling long round and fourth in tie-down roping, and Wahlert placed sixth in tie-down roping.

Other team members include Ashlyn Williams, junior agriculture major from Boyd; Blake Ramsey, senior marketing major from Fowler, Colo.; Brian Gillen, junior from Elizabeth, Colo.; Cooper Morris, sophomore agribusiness major from Cicero, Ind.; Emma Morris, freshman animal science major from Cicero, Ind.; Erica Heckman, an August general studies graduate from Boone, Iowa; Georgie Lage, graduate agriculture student from Gordon, Neb.; Jace Roselle, senior finance major from Greeley, Colo.; Karissa Phillips, junior equine industry and business major from Rock Springs, Wyo.; Kassidy Albright, freshman animal science major from Marlin; Kooper Huddleston, senior agribusiness major from Amarillo; Lexi Bartley, senior equine industry and business from Sudan; Logan Price, freshman animal science major from Lakeview, Ore.; Lucy Gordon, senior social work major from Canyon; Madison Pritchard, junior equine industry and business major from Krum; Madison Largent, sophomore equine industry and business major from Newbury Park, Calif.; Sarah Parks, freshman equine industry and business major from Harrison, Ark.; Shelby Espenson, senior business major from Wildorado; and Weston Howell, senior agribusiness and economics major from Booker.

Cape competed in team roping in June at the College National Finals rodeo, where he narrowly missed advancing to the short-go.

The rodeo team — which boasts 26 members from around the country — has been a WT fixture for more than 25 years, with four regional champions and four CNFR qualifiers in the past five years. The team was spotlighted in “Around Texas with Chancellor John Sharp,” a new television show that airs Sundays on Panhandle PBS. The episode can be viewed online: youtu.be/4RuwcyRG9c8.

WT’s rodeo team is an example of the University’s responsiveness to the Texas Panhandle, as outlined in the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.

Photo: Kallen Johnson goes for broke during a practice run at the WT rodeo arena.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 40 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WTAMU—