CASPER, Wyo. – Chadron State College seniors Brooke McCully and Jake Chasek both competed at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper this week, with McCully qualifying for the finals in breakaway roping by the slimmest of margins and earning the right to compete for a national title on Saturday night.  

The finals performance, featuring McCully, is due to start at 7 p.m. Saturday night in the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper. An online live stream of the event is also available on ESPN3 and ESPN.com (cable/TV subscription login required). 

While McCully, a native of Mullen, Nebraska, drew a pokey calf and did not record a time in the first go-round last Sunday, she caught her next two calves in 2.2 and 2.1 seconds during runs on Tuesday to finish in a three-way tie for 12^th place after all three go-rounds leading to the finals had been completed. McCully then had a long wait until the other performances concluded on Friday night to see if her aggregate time would be enough to make the finals. 

Besides McCully, those sharing 12^th place in the breakaway standings include Haiden Thompson, formerly of Whitney, Nebraska and now of Yoder, Wyoming and a junior at Gillette College. She roped her first calf in 2.1 seconds, but failed to connect during the second go-round and caught her third calf in 2.2 seconds. Also involved in the three-way tie with a total time of 4.3 seconds on two catches is Shacie Marr of Eastern New Mexico University.

Normally, the top 12 finishers in each event qualify for the finals, but with McCully, Thompson and Marr all having the exact combination of a 2.2-second run, a 2.1-second run and a no-catch, all three ropers will advance and there will be 14 cowgirls in the short go-round out of the original 61 entrants.

Ten of the breakaway ropers caught all three of their calves to claim a place in the finals. Another roper caught two of her three calves in a total of 4.1 seconds to gain the 11^th slot. 

Jake Chasek, a Mitchell, Nebraska native, was also a national qualifier for CSC in the tie down roping event. Chasek failed to complete his first run on Monday and his third run on Tuesday night. In between, he earned a time of 21.4 seconds during his second go to finish in 44th place. 

McCully and Chasek are the first two Chadron State student-athletes to qualify for the CNFR since the 2021 season. If McCully places, she will become the sixth CSC cowgirl to do so in breakaway roping at nationals, joining Jean Fuchs (1st, 1978), Kathy Kennedy (1st, 1979), Kerry Becker (4th, 1986), Jennifer Nelson (3rd, 2005) and Brianna Williams (fourth, 2021).