Mesalands out in cold

The host team was left out in the cold for championship buckles during the 12th annual Mesalands Community College Grand Canyon Region Intercollegiate Rodeo.

Several athletes with the host Stampede squad finished runner-up overall Saturday night at the Quay County Fairgrounds arena.

Among those Mesalands athletes finishing second were Bonner Voss in the saddle bronc riding, Jesse Hay in bareback bronc riding and Wyatt Wells in bull riding. AJ Kee finished third in the bareback and Vinell Mariano was third in bull riding; both qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo last season.

Wells in particular felt the sting of defeat. Riding an energetic bull named Little Red during Saturday night's championship round, he nearly lasted the full eight seconds but was bucked off at the last moment. Still, his earlier successful ride of 69 points earned him runner-up honors.

Mesalands sophomore Hiyo Yazzie, who had entered in four events during the weekend, made it into the championship round in two - saddle bronc and steer wrestling - and failed to place in both.

Central Arizona College, which leads the Grand Canyon Region team standings this season, won the Mesalands rodeo on the strength of four first-place finishes. Mesalands coach Matt Hughes didn't have an exact points count, but said his Stampede team finished fourth.

Hughes paused when asked to assess the performance of his squad.

"We could have done a lot better," he finally said. "There was a lot of good stuff that happened, but it was not the weekend we wanted. There were a lot of little things we did that kept us out of the short round.

"It was not as if we didn't show up to win; everyone had a good attitude going in," Hughes continued. "I just think they were a little overexcited. Everyone I had who is a second-year student did well. It was rookie mistakes. The freshman ... they're young, they're excited to be here, they'll clean it up next year."

Championship buckles were given to:

• Bareback riding: Matthew Tuni, Northland Pioneer College.

• Saddle bronc: Stuart Wright, Cochise College.

• Team roping: John Goana and Trey Nowlin, Central Arizona College.

• Tie-down roping: Clay Elkington, Central Arizona College.

• Steer wrestling: Dawson Lackey, Central Arizona College.

• Barrel racing: Reata Schlosser, Central Arizona College.

• Breakaway roping: Hope Luttrell, Cochise College.

• Goat tying: Alexa Manley, Cochise College.

• Bull riding: Bo Tyler Vocu, New Mexico State University.

Unseasonably cold weather descended on the region during the weekend, with lows in the 30s on Friday night and the 40s on Saturday night. As a result, few cowboys logged successful rides during the bronc and bull-riding events.

"It definitely helped the roughstock," Hughes said of the chilly weather. "They bucked a lot harder this weekend. It wasn't as hot, and they were feeling good."