LINCOLN — Several central and western Nebraska athletes have turned in solid opening performances during the first half of the National High School Finals Rodeo at the Sandhills Global Event Center in Lincoln.
Stapleton’s Cotter Johnston provided the strongest area finish through Wednesday morning. Johnston won Monday morning’s steer wrestling performance with a time of 4.86 seconds, edging Oklahoma’s Maverick Campidilli by five-hundredths of a second.
Broken Bow’s Kelstyn Lindner recorded a qualified ride during Monday morning’s bareback competition. Lindner received a score of 60 points, placing sixth in the performance. He was one of six riders to record a score during the session.
Cody Marshall of Burwell opened his week on Tuesday morning in tie-down roping. Marshall stopped the clock in 12.30 seconds, good for eighth place in the performance. Alabama’s Aiden Parker won the session with a time of 9.42 seconds.
In barrel racing, Kallan Cox of Purdum finished 11th during Monday morning’s performance. Cox completed the pattern in 18.120 seconds, placing just behind Missouri’s Olivia Dames and less than a second behind performance winner Izzy Coughlin of Utah.
Brynne McCully of Mullen competed in Monday morning’s breakaway roping and finished with a time of 12.45 seconds. McCully placed 19th in the performance. Wyoming’s Hadley Thompson posted the winning time at 2.15 seconds.
Bassett’s Maci Herrington has put together two competitive runs. Herrington placed eighth in Monday night’s barrel racing performance with a time of 17.920 seconds. She returned Wednesday morning and finished fifth in pole bending at 20.958 seconds.
Nebraska’s top results have come from several parts of the state.
Kinsey Walz of Ainsworth tied for second in the opening pole bending performance with a time of 20.587 seconds. Walz also placed fourth during Monday night’s reined cow horse competition with a score of 290. She currently sits sixth in the Cowgirl all-around standings with 220 points.
Callie Olson of Bloomfield is third in the reined cow horse average with a two-run score of 584. Olson also stands eighth in the cowgirl all-around race with 190 points.
Other Nebraska highlights include Kanin Heath of Minden placing fifth in Tuesday night’s bareback riding with 71 points, Remi Wells of Central City placing fourth in Wednesday morning’s barrel racing at 17.747 seconds, and Sutton Schrunk and Laken Krogman, both of Valentine, recording qualified saddle bronc rides.
In the team race, Nebraska is 14th overall with 812.5 points. The Nebraska girls are ninth with 410 points, while the boys are 16th with 402.5. Texas and Oklahoma are tied for the overall lead with 2,460 points apiece, followed by Utah with 2,367.5.
Competition continues through Saturday in Lincoln. Many athletes have completed only their opening performance, leaving plenty of movement possible as second-round runs are completed and the field is narrowed for the championship round.
