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On the women’s side, UT Martin piled up 290 points, while the host, Arkansas-Monticello claimed first with 490 points.
UT Martin head rodeo coach John Luthi said he would like his team to be in better shape heading into their home rodeo this week, April 10-12, at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion.
“Our men are in second place in the region, but we still have a good shot to win it with three rodeos left,” Luthi said.
“The women moved up in the Ozark Region and still have a good shot at finishing second in the region this season.”
Missouri Valley College currently leads the region on the men’s side with 5,130 points while UT Martin is second with 4,895 points.
On the women’s side, Arkansas-Monticello leads the region with 2,820 points, while UT Martin is fourth with 1,190 points. Troy is in second place with 1,325 points and West Alabama is third with 1,275 points.
UT Martin is trying to finish first or second in the Ozark Region so it can claim automatic berths in the College National Finals Rodeo set for June in Casper, Wyo. There are two more Ozark Region rodeos after this week’s UT Martin rodeo.
On the men’s side, UT Martin’s Matt Smith split second and third in the first round of the bareback at Arkansas-Monticello. He won the second round and claimed the average with 165 total points.
Smith currently leads the region in the bareback with 1,210 points. He also finished second in the first round of the bull riding at Arkansas-Monticello with a 67-point ride. He finished third in the average.
UT Martin senior Ty Atchison is trying to win the region’s all-around. He made significant progress at Arkansas-Monticello by finishing among the top six in the average in four different events.
Atchison, from nearby Jackson, Mo., finished sixth in the team roping average, fifth in the steer wrestling average, fifth in the calf roping average and first in the saddle bronc average.
Atchison was second in the first round of the saddle bronc with a 73-point ride. His 79-point ride won the second round.
He won the Arkansas-Monticello all-around with 310 points and he currently leads the region in the all-around with 1,935 points. To win the all-around buckle, a cowboy must work at least two events in a rodeo.
While Atchison is racking up the points, UT Martin’s Ryan Pope is showing he is consistent. Pope was third in the first go of the steer wrestling at Arkansas-Monticello. He also claimed third in the second go and third in the average with a total time of 9.8.
On the women’s side, UT Martin’s Nicole Todd won the barrel racing at Arkansas-Monticello. She turned in a 15.64 run in the first round and a 15.62 time in the second round. She won average with a total time of 31.26 on two runs.
UT Martin’s Samantha Davis was fifth in the barrel racing average with a total time of 32.09 for two runs.
In the breakaway, UT Martin’s Adrienne Vought was fourth in the second go and fourth in the average with a total time of 7.6.
The UT Martin women scored points in the goat tying where Lauren Glasco was fifth in the average and Brittany Duff was sixth in the average.
For ticket information for this weekend’s 40th annual spring college rodeo, call 73-881-7207.