Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Mesalands Rodeo team made history a few more times Friday and Saturday.
The men's team repeated as Grand Canyon Regional champs at New Mexico State University, scoring 1,025 points to set the national record for cumulative points in a season (9,707.5).
"We beat the record by close to 1,000 points," coach C.J. Aragon said. "The national office is still auditing the points, but going into the last rodeo we only needed 7.5 points to beat the national record. It's pretty nice to be able to defend our team title. Many people might have thought we were just lucky last year, but after winning two years in a row in a pretty convincing fashion, it legitimizes our team and our rankings as the current No. 1 team in the nation."
It was the team's third 1,000-point performance, including a record 1,357.5 at Crownpoint earlier in April.
Mesalands, having broken NMSU's eight-year winning streak in the region in 2011, kept its own streak going with four individual championship.
The women's team took second place with 480 points, and finished second in the region.
Freshmen Macy Fuller, from Clarkston Wash., took the championship title in the team roping, heading for fellow teammate Daniel Munoz-Boezi from Chihuahua, Mexico.Fuller also finished second in the Women's All-Around, and fifth in the barrel racing. As the top female rodeo recruit last year, Fuller has performed as expected this season.
Fuller finished first in the region and nationally in the women's all-around. Regionally, she is second in goat tying, third in breakaway roping, fourth in the team roping (header), event and eighth in barrel racing.
"It's difficult because I ride four horses and I have six horses here that I have to keep in shape," Fuller said. "It's especially hard to focus when your mind is racing around about team roping, breakaway, goat tying, and then turn around and get on a barrel horse. You just have to stay focused."
Sophomore Fran Marchand of Omak, Wash., won two individual championship titles, the men's all-around and the bareback riding title. He also finished fourth in the saddle bronc riding.
Marchand finished the season first in the region in the Men's All-Around and bull riding. He is also currently leading the nation in the men's all-around and is fifth in bull riding.
Other individual regional year-end standings include: