Trapper Rodeo Team currently ranked No. 16

When it comes to team roping, both ropers need to keep their eyes on the prize and that’s exactly what Northwest College’s Zach Schweigert and Shawn Bird did as they snagged the title of top team ropers in the country at last weekend’s rodeo at the University of Great Falls in Great Falls, Montana.

“It was one of my goals starting out, to be number one in the nation going into the college finals and it feels pretty good to accomplish that goal,” Bird said. “I don’t look at the standings until it is all said and done, I just do my job each week.”

Schweigert shared Bird’s modest approach, having just learned about their top standing Tuesday morning — two days after it was official.

“It really only matters how the college finals go,” Schweigert said. “It feels good to win as much as we have this year — I am just focused on getting to the college finals.”

Schweigert said last year’s college finals rodeo was “disappointing,” having placed ninth. The duo has about a month until the finals and they’re both planning on continuing to practice and compete in some rodeos in the meantime.

“I want to redeem myself,” Schweigert said. “It kind of sucked, and that has been on my mind to get back there and do better.”

Bird said he knew they had a shot at being top in the nation after they won their first round in Glendive.

“We just stuck to the game plan to go out and do our job and catch and see where it puts us — and it worked out,” Bird said. “I am going to stay relaxed and do what I have been doing my whole life and rope and see what falls.”

Having the top ropers in the country is a big deal for this junior college team, coach Del Nose said.

“We don’t have that kind of talent come along that often; and to have these guys here and doing as well as they are is a feat for them and an honor for our rodeo program,” Nose said. “It is fantastic, especially for a junior college it is huge.”

High rankings all-around

NWC is sporting some serious competition for their opponents with multiple team members ranking high on the national and regional scale.

As a team, NWC is 16th in the nation in one of the few college sports that does not separate teams by school size.

“That is tremendous,” Nose said.

The NWC men rank third in the Big Sky region with 4,440 points and the women are fifth with 1,134 points. As a whole, the team ranks third.

“The men are only a couple hundred points from second and our plan is to move Montana out,” Nose said. “We are practicing hard still — the student-athletes know what is on the line for the men’s side, so with position and concentration and a bit of luck and we should be OK.”

Only the top two riders in each region get to compete at the college finals, so NWC has their eyes on the prize and are shooting for the National College Finals Rodeo in June.

If NWC’s Kelsy Robinson can keep it in gear this weekend, she’ll maintain her second place standing for the region in barrel racing and go on to the college finals.

Turning a small-school team into a big-time contendor takes time, talent and effort. Nose described their practices as highly structured with tips from professional riders from the National Finals Rodeo. This is the rodeo equivalent of bringing in major league baseball players to work with the student-athletes.

“We do a lot for these kids so they can be competitive,” Nose said.

A great time at Great Falls

NWC’s intense efforts at practice paid off in Great Falls as the men and women’s teams both placed second at Great Falls, trailing just behind University of Montana Western.

The men were just 10 points behind Montana Western with 670 points and the women brought in 285 points to Montana Western’s 505 points. 

“We had a tremendous one,” Nose said. “It is really coming along, we are only a couple hundred points behind in the men’s side and the girls we are trying to get placed in the top three. It is a work in progress, but man it is outstanding and our practices have really paid off.”

NWC was well represented in the all-around with three riders in the top four. Lane Lahaye ranked third with 150 points and Schweigert was close behind with 130 in fourth. Meanwhile on the women’s side, Shelby Mann ranked third for the all-around with 185 points, a mere 10 points behind the second place position.

Although Schweigert and Bird are ranked top in the country, they weren’t the top ropers last weekend as fellow NWC ropers Mann and Tyler Sterner bested them with a 17.6-second catch for first.

Meanwhile, Cody and Robert Magpie brought in a 26.0 in team roping.

It wasn’t all first-place catches for Mann unfortunately, as she went on to rank seventh in the breakaway roping with a 16.5. 

But it’s not all roping for the NWC team, as the chutes were all theirs in the roughstock.

The only qualifying ride in the bull riding event was none other than NWC’s Casey Fredericks with a 67.

Meanwhile, teammate Ricky Warren left his competition in the dust in the saddle bronc with 140 points — a full 13 points ahead of second place’s score.

Jesse Nelson placed second in bareback with 143 points, just barely missing first place against Wyatt Bloom of Montana State University who had 144 points.

Another second place score was brought home by Lahaye with a 26.2 in tie-down roping.

More than just goats were left all tied up in the goat tying event as Whitney Simmons tied for second with a 13.6

As tight as Simmons’ knots were, competition was even tighter in the barrel racing for Robinson as her 26.39-second time was up against four other riders all with times less than a half-second faster than her own.

Steer wrestling is a tough event — and competition was even tougher for NWC’s Justin Honken who placed fourth with 21.8.

The same was true in the breakaway roping for Elsie Fortune who ranked sixth with 16.2 and Mann was close behind with a 16.5.

“We have one more rodeo to go,” Nose said, “... so it is going to get better.”