CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State College cowgirls Bridget Romey and Mejrusa Rustemovic placed first and second among 96 contestants in the barrel race this past weekend at the Eastern Wyoming College rodeo in Torrington.  

Romey and Rustemovic were only a hundredth of a second apart while going one-two in the long go-round in 15.34 and 15.35 seconds, respectively. When the top 10 competed in the finals on Sunday, Romey's time of 15.43 seconds was the third fastest and Rustemovic's 15.49 was fourth, and their aggregate times of 30.77 and 30.84 seconds were the fastest of the rodeo.

Romey is a junior from Hot Springs, South Dakota, and was riding Six, a gray gelding who six years ago sustained a leg injury that "put him out of commission," in Romey's words, for four years before he recovered and could run the barrels again last year. This is the first time they have placed in the finals at a college rodeo, although they won the long go-round at the Colorado State University rodeo last year before knocking over a barrel in the finals. 
 
Rustemovic is a freshman from Kiowa, Colorado. She also rides a gray gelding named Player. They have placed in the barrels four times in the seven rodeos in the region this school year, including first at the Lamar College rodeo last October.  

A third Chadron State cowgirl, Elle Ravenscroft of Cody, Nebraska, was sixth in both go-rounds and also finished sixth in the averages of the barrel race at the Eastern Wyoming rodeo. Her times were 15.48 and 15.60 seconds. 

Two more CSC cowgirls from Nebraska, Amanda Sellin of Norfolk and Rylee Naprstek of Gothenburg, placed high in the long go-round of breakaway roping at Torrington. Sellin was third in 2.5 seconds and Naprstek tied for fourth in 2.6 seconds, but both failed to catch their second calf during the finals. 

Three CSC cowboys reached Sunday's finals.  Pepper Rhyne of Craig, Colorado placed fourth in tie down roping with times of 10.6 and 11.2 seconds. Cinch Kiger of Overton, Nebraska finished third in bareback riding with 65 and 70 points and Tanner Olson of Gordon, Nebraska was fourth in the first session of bareback riding with 71 points before not receiving a score in the finals.   

The Central Rocky Mountain Region rodeo action this weekend will take place in Loveland, Colorado, hosted by Colorado State University.