CASPER, Wyo. – Mejrusa Rustemovic placed in the top four while Cinch Kiger and Bridget Romey continued to build their College National Finals Rodeo cases as Chadron State competed at the Casper College rodeo from April 17-19, the second to last regular season rodeo of the season.

Kiger, in bareback riding, and Romey, in barrel racing, each placed sixth in their events and added 25 points to their season totals.

A senior from Overton, Nebraska, Kiger has accumulated 1,030 points in the nine 2025-26 rodeos in the Central Rocky Mountain Region and has a 170-point lead in the bareback standings. With just one more regional rodeo remaining, he has nearly clinched the championship since 180 points is the most a contestant can earn in an event by winning both go-rounds.

The top three finishers in each event qualify for the college finals. Kiger is assured of being one of the bareback qualifiers, as the fourth place contestant has only 575 points. 

Romey, a senior from Hot Springs, South Dakota, is in much more of a race, but she's ahead of all the 100 or more barrel racers at each regional rodeo except the season's point leader, who is Brylee Grubb of Gillette College. 

Grubb has 540 points while Romey is second with 480, followed by McKinlee May of Colorado State with 450, Sydney Oedekoven of Laramie County Community College at Cheyenne with 425, another LCCC contestant, Harley Mackey with 365, and two University of Wyoming cowgirls, Marrin Fost and McKenzi Scott each with 360.

All of them are within striking distance of being one of the three qualifiers, particularly if they win both go-rounds as Frost did at Casper last weekend to earn half of her season total points. That was just the second time this year anyone scored the maximum 180 points in the barrels after May also did it two weeks ago at her home rodeo.     

Kiger rode both of his broncs at Casper, but they weren't the best draws in the pen and he scored just 73 and 75 points for his sixth place finish. Another CSC bareback contestant, Tanner Olson of Gordon, scored 77 points in the first go-round to tie for third and fourth, but he didn't get a score in the finals.

Romey was sixth in the barrels with runs of 14.92 and 15.51 seconds. Another CSC barrel racer, Rustemovic of Kiowa, Colorado, placed fourth with times of 14.83 and 14.84 seconds, but her horse was injured much of the season and it was just the second time she's earned points this year. She finished fourth in the region, just 50 points away from qualifying for the CNFR, a year ago. 

Chadron State team ropers Pepper Rhyne of Craig, Colorado, and Seth Glass of Sidney finished seventh in that event at Casper with times of 7.6 and 15.4 seconds.

The region's final rodeo will be at the University of Wyoming in Laramie this weekend.