NPC Rodeo Club Members Are Vying For Berths At NIRA National Finals

Team ropers Choc Westcott and Casey Rudder, and bull rider Pat Curtin are vying for a chance to compete in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) National Finals in June in Casper, Wyo. The three Northland Pioneer College Rodeo Club members must finish in the top three in the Grand Canyon Region to qualify for the national event.
   Westcott and Rudder finished the fall semester atop the region, but slipped to second, just 13 points behind the leaders, following rodeos at Ft. Huachuca, Tucson and Florence. The team finished first at Florence. With two rodeos left on the schedule, April 17 and 18 in Crownpoint, N.M., and May 2 and 3 in Las Cruces, N.M., the team ropers are in pretty good shape to rope a national berth.
   Choc is from Snowflake and is the team’s header. Casey is from Aztec, N.M., and does the “heeling.”
   Curtin, who is from Show Low, took second in the Ft. Huachuca long go on Saturday and third in the average. He also hung on for a first place finish in the March 9 rodeo at Florence. Curtin is currently fifth in the region, but has been making up points in recent events following back problems in the fall semester.
    “To have our lone team roping duo near the top of the regional standings is quite an accomplishment, considering the club only has seven members,” noted John Doyle, coach for the NPC club. Each college is allowed six men and four women to accrue points at each rodeo. “Some of the colleges in the Grand Can-yon Region have as many as 85 members to draw a team from. The NPC club is small. With the odds against us, we are still in contention.”
   Ten colleges compete in the Grand Canyon Region of the NIRA: Central Arizona, Cochise, Diné, Pima, New Mexico State University, NPC, Scottsdale, University of Arizona, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, University of New Mexico-Gallup and Western New Mexico.
   Registration will be getting underway April 14 for the fall semester, and Doyle is encouraging students interested in competing with the Rodeo Club to enroll at NPC. To be eligible, students must have a high school diploma or GED, and be enrolled in 12 or more credits at NPC with a 2.0 or better grade point aver-age.
   Club members practice at the Taylor Rodeo Grounds, thanks to Eddie Hancock and the Town of Taylor, and the Show Low Arena, thanks to Rob and Shawna Bolten, and Victoria McCarty. Reed Flake provides the practice team-roping cattle and Dax Austin provides the practice bulls. Local sponsors provide funds for the club members to travel and compete in the rodeos.
   For more information about the NPC Rodeo Club, please contact John Doyle at (928) 521-6005.