CCHS athletes place at home rodeo - Central Oregonian

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Lon Austin

After another strong performance, McKennan Buckner, Dayton Stafford, and Jessie Loper have already wrapped up a trip to the Oregon High School Rodeo Finals.

Buckner and Stafford solidified their hold on first place in the Oregon High School Rodeo Association team roping standings with a third-place finish at last weekend’s Tri-County Rodeo.

The duo finished with a time of 7.73 and now hold a more than 10- point lead on everyone else in the field.

Loper also extended her state lead in goat tying. She finished second at Brasada Ranch with a time of 8.01 to extend her lead in the overall standings to 13 points over second place Courtney Hibbs, who is also from Crook County. Hibbs finished 10th in the event at the Tri-County Rodeo with a time of 10.28. Her sister, Carly, finished in ninth with a time of 10.03.

Loper also placed eighth in team roping with partner Garrett Robinson in a time of 14.25.

The only other Crook County athlete to place in the Tri-County rodeo was Talia Radabaugh, who finished eighth in pole bending with a time of 21.527.

However, a number of other athletes in the Tri-County Rodeo Club were able to place in the event.

Members of the club continue to dominate bareback riding. The trio of David Peebles, Wyatt Bloom, and Donovan Orr — all from Deschutes County — finished one-two-three in the event with scores of 76, 73, and 70 respectively. With the win, Peebles has closed to within seven points of Bloom for the state title.

Stevie Rae Willis of Terrebonne also earned a first place for the Tri-County Rodeo Club with a lightning-fast time of 2.91 seconds in breakaway roping. With the win, Willis has moved into the top 10 in the breakaway standings. Willis also placed sixth in team roping with partner Nolan Walker in a time of 11.02. Brothers T.J. and A.J. McCauley of Redmond also earned points over the weekend. T.J. finished second in tie down roping with a time of 10.50 seconds while A.J. took third in steer wrestling with a time of 9.07 seconds.

With just three rodeos remaining before the state finals, every point becomes critical. Cowboys and Cowgirls compete in Burns this coming Saturday and Sunday, go to John Day the following weekend, then finish the regular season with a rodeo at Molalla June 1-3.

The top 20 performers in each event will then earn the right to compete in the Oregon High School Rodeo Association Finals which will be held in Prineville June 13-16.