Three members of North Dakota State University’s rodeo team competed in this year’s College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.

“This is the first time since 1989 that the rodeo team has qualified three individuals at the same time,” says Tate Eck, the team’s coach.

The three were Austin Martin, a senior from Grand Forks who competed in bareback riding; Jordy Rist, a junior from Bemidji, Minn., who competed in barrel racing; and James Kapp, a senior from Steele who competed in bull riding.

To qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo, contestants must finish in the top three in the Great Plains Region. At the national level, contestants compete three times in their event. The top 12 then compete a fourth time in the Finals Short Go Performance. The national competition ended with the Final Go Round on Saturday.

None of the NDSU team reached the Short Go round.

“They did, however, give it their ‘college try’ and represented NDSU outstandingly at the national level,” Eck says.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - June 22, 2011