Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ENMU senior breakaway roper Harley-Ann DeLeeuw attempts to rope a calf during Friday night's performance at the Eastern New Mexico College Daze Rodeo.
PORTALES — ENMU’s College Daze Rodeo has been a bit hit or miss for the home Greyhounds, with mixed results across the board through two days. In one sense, there’s three Greyhounds that sit in the top 10 in goat tying, after Friday’s performance round. In another, however, several Eastern athletes find themselves on the outside looking in of the top 10.
“It’s been a little rough for me. But, for some of my teammates, I think it’s been going good,” sophomore breakaway and team roper Catherine Hisel explained. “(But) It’s always fun and it’s the first rodeo of the year. It’s actually the biggest college rodeo in America, because we’re the biggest region. It’s always fun for us to be here and be at home.”
Three members of the ENMU women’s rodeo team have staked their claim in the goat tying top 10.
Senior Laney Elkins is in a three-way tie for fifth, with a time of 9.1 seconds. Right behind her in a tie for eighth is freshman Kaden Schulte, with a 9.2-second run. And finally, junior Saige Bell sits tied for 10th place, narrowly behind her teammates, at 9.3 seconds. For now, Tarleton State’s Mary Risse has the best run of the event, at 8.5 seconds.
Beyond that, the only other Greyhound to find themselves in the top 10 of any event is Brittany Lott, whose 3.2-second breakaway roping time is good enough for a three-way tie for sixth. North Central Texas College’s Lauryn Hoagland leads with a 2.1-second run.
On the men’s side, four ENMU team ropers sit outside of the top 20, led by Zant Zamora’s 18-second run, good enough for 21st. In 24th is Robert Thompson at 22.1 seconds. But while those two are paired up with athletes from other schools, the Greyhounds do have one duo in Luke Hisel and Wesley Gudgell.
Right now, Hisel and Gudgell rank 26th overall, recording a run of 22.4 seconds. Hisel, who’s one half of the duo, is the “header,” while Gudgell is the “heeler.”
“One person ropes the head and you turn them off, and then the other person comes from behind and ropes the feet,” Luke Hisel explained.
For the Clovis-based Hisels, the rodeo is a family affair, as their younger brother John is an up-and-comer to watch for in the future.
“It’s our lifestyle,” Luke said. “We grew up on a ranch, so this is kinda what we do. It’s just a lot of fun.”
The 53rd annual College Daze Rodeo runs through tonight. Eastern will soon embark on another major rodeo, Sul Ross, next Thursday through Saturday.
