Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Emmett Edler, who has a dual role of graduate-student competitor and assistant rodeo coach, earned another qualification to the College National Finals Rodeo with his last-rodeo heroics this past weekend. With his move to No. 3 in the standings, all Central Plains Region steer wrestling representatives are Rangers. Nathan Duvall won the region, and Tydon Tsosie finished second.
(FILE PHOTO BY DALE HIRSCHMAN)

 

ALVA, Okla. – Emmett Edler’s back was against the wall.

Entering the final weekend of the Central Plains Region season, Edler needed to place high enough to sneak into the top three of the steer wrestling standings if he was going to extend his final year of intercollegiate eligibility into June with a qualification to the National College Finals Rodeo.

He secured 80 points, most of which came by winning the opening round this past weekend at the Oklahoma Panhandle State University rodeo in Guymon. With that, Northwestern Oklahoma State University scored a sweep, with all three Central Plains bulldoggers wearing the black Rangers vests.

“I had looked through it and saw the points and had a pretty good idea of what I needed to do and what was going to have to play out,” said Edler, the Rangers’ assistant coach and a graduate student from State Center, Iowa. “I knew before it started that I at least needed to have a decent weekend.”

He will join region champion Nathan Duvall of Henryetta, Oklahoma, and runner-up Tydon Tsosie of Crownpoint, New Mexico, at the college finals, which runs June 14-20 in Casper, Wyoming. In addition to the Northwestern trio atop the regional leaderboard, Sam Daly of Tryon, Nebraska, and Riley Smith of Poteau, Oklahoma, scored points in Guymon; Daly finished the year sixth and Smith eighth in the standings.

“Probably one of the things I’m most proud of is what they did in the bulldogging,” coach Cali Griffin said. “For us to make all three qualifiers from one school just goes to show the effort Emmett has poured into that group. I’m so proud of what he’s doing with that group.”

For his part, Edler was one of three Rangers to qualify for Guymon’s championship round in multiple events. He also advanced to the finale in tie-down roping, while Smith led the way by also advancing to the short round in tie-down roping and saddle bronc riding. Sadie Rempel of Nelson, Nebraska, was among the top 12 in barrel racing and team roping.

“That was good, especially in calf roping,” Edler said. “I haven’t practiced it a whole lot, and it’s definitely my second event, so I was just happy to put a couple of good runs together and have some fun at this last rodeo.

“Guymon’s always a great rodeo, and it’s just a great atmosphere. When you walk up there, it feels like a rodeo movie out of the ’90s: the music and the big arena and being outdoor and the sunshine in your face. It’s always a great feeling anytime you get to run one in a performance in Guymon. With this being my last year, I was just trying to soak it all in, because I knew that would be the last time I’d get to experience it at the college rodeo.”

The goal, though, was to get back to Wyoming and join the likes of breakaway roper Taylor Munsell and steer wrestlers J.D. Struxness and Bridger Anderson as winners over the seven-day championship in Casper.

“My whole intent with coming back for another year and rodeoing again was to have a chance to win a national championship,” Edler said. “I was starting to think I might have put the cart before the horse, because toward the end, I realized, ‘Hey, I’m going to have to bear down to make the college finals and even have a chance.’

“It was just a weird season for me.”

It ended in the right way. While most of the Rangers closed out their seasons, there were two others who will join the bulldoggers at the college finals: Goat-tier Payton Dingman of Pryor, Oklahoma, and team roping-heeler Colter Snook of Ford, Kansas; both finished second in their respective standings.

Northwestern had 13 contestants in the Guymon short round. Smith and Edler earned points in all their events and even placed in tie-down roping’s average: Smith was fourth, and Edler was sixth. Even though they had no-times in the championship round, Edler and Daly placed in the aggregate. Breakaway roper Saddie Hammond of Avondale, Colorado, led the way for the Rangers women, placing fourth in the short round and average.

Dingman was joined in the final round of goat-tying by Tyra Tsosie, the twin sister of Tydon also from Crownpoint; Tsosie stopped the clock in 7.8 seconds to finish as the first-round runner-up and placed fourth overall. Dingman placed in a three-way tie for fifth place in the final round. Rempel was joined as a barrel-racing finalist by Waci Thomson of Lundbreck, Alberta, whose 17.23-second run was good enough for fifth in the opening round.

Snook, a heeler who made the college finals last year as a header, earned points by placing fifth in the first round while roping with Dexton Hoelting of Western Oklahoma State College. Header Cooper Mott of Kansas, Oklahoma, made the final round with Braxton Hogle of Murray State College. The final round also featured Northwestern tandems Trisha Regner of Apple Valley, California, who roped with Rempel, and Y’Leigh Yarbrough of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, and John Harrell of Sperry, Oklahoma.

“I think one of the cool things is that the top three bulldoggers in the region are from Northwestern,” Edler said. “I think it’s a testament to the work we’ve put in here. We do a lot of practicing and work really hard at it. Those guys that won first and second deserve every bit of it. They show up, they work hard, and they’ve been winners. I’m happy to be right there beside them.”