Team South Dakota turned in several top performances at the National High School Finals Rodeo, held July 19-25 at the Sandhills Global Event Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, finishing 11th in the overall team standings.
Among the state’s top finishers was Sophie Hruby, who helped lead South Dakota in the girls events. Hruby placed fifth in the goat tying average with a combined time of 21.51 seconds after posting top-10 finishes in all three rounds, including sixth in the opening round and seventh in the short-go finals. Her performance also earned her fourth place in the all-around cowgirl standings with 755 points.
In bull riding, South Dakota placed three competitors in the short-go finals. Taos Weborg of Gregory opened the competition with an 83-point ride, the best score of the first round, while Tyrel Koan was third after posting a 79-point ride. Wynn Lawrence of White Horse also advanced to the short-go after rides of 68 and 73 points. Although none of the three scored in the finals, Lawrence finished sixth in the aggregate standings with 141 points. Weborg tied for ninth, and Koan finished 17th.
Roper Moore of Winner qualified for the short-go finals in boys cutting and finished 12th in the aggregate with 638 points. Moore posted three top-20 runs during the competition and placed 13th in the second performance round.
In bareback riding, Talon Ping of Highmore led the South Dakota contingent, finishing 15th in the aggregate standings with 196 points. Ping’s 72-point ride in the second round was good for seventh in that performance. Casen Schmidt of Belle Fourche followed in 17th place overall after recording a 71-point ride in the opening round.
Hayes Burress of Isabel also earned a short-go berth in tie-down roping. Burress placed ninth in the first round with a 9.3-second run and finished 11th in the short-go finals.
South Dakota shooters also found success in the trapshooting competition. Oren Sargent of Winner advanced to the short-go and finished 16th overall after hitting 194 of 200 targets. Tacen Carr of Belle Fourche finished 23rd with 187 targets broken.
In the NHSFR Queen competition, Atty Eastman of Spearfish placed ninth with 600.25 points.
As a team, South Dakota finished 11th overall with 3,585 points. The boys squad placed 12th with 2,040 points, while the girls squad was 17th with 1,545 points. Texas claimed the championship in the combined, boys and girls team standings.
