March 22, 2016 - Panola College rodeo team was in action again this past weekend in College Station for the Texas A&M rodeo.
Freshman bareback rider Kole Chandler lead his team off in the rough stock, by scoring enough points in the long go round to qualify for the short go round. Kole came back in the 10th hole, which is the last hole to qualify for the short go, and was able to move all the way to 4th in the average. He placed 2nd in the short round with an outstanding ride on a very strong hard to ride bucking horse. Kole’s combined rides where good enough to earn the team 80 points. The fact that a freshman can make it back to the short round is awesome, gaining ground once your there is unheard of.
Caleb Cogbill followed suit after a run good enough to come back to the short round, Cogbill was on a mission. Caleb came back in the short round 8th, but when the dust settled he was in 4th. Caleb had a very fast run of 4.6 seconds and won 2nd in the short go round. The Steer wrestling is an event that is usually reserved, or dominated by the bigger men, that makes us realize how awesome Caleb is at 150 pounds.
Breakaway roping is a fast event for the ladies. The 3rd fastest lady this week once again was freshman, Laramie Johnson. Laramie has had an extremely good season and in currently in 3rd position for the overall standings for the Southern Region. The top three competitors in each event will move on to the C.N.F.R. Johnson has had a great year already and we look forward to how well she is going to do at the last 2 regional rodeo’s.
Taylor Gooch was on fire in the goat tying. Taylor posted a time of 7.1 seconds in the long go round, to beat the rest of the field by 6 tenths of a second. Taylor wasn’t about to let off then she came back in the short round with a 8.2 second run. The 15.3 time on two head, kept her in the lead for the win by 4 tenths of a second. Gooch has now set herself up to win the region and qualify for the prestigious C.N.F.R.
The rodeo team will be back on the dirt April 1-2 in Hillsboro, Tx.
