As student director for the Central Plains Region, Northwestern Oklahoma State University sophomore Payton Dingman had an automatic bid for the College National Finals Rodeo. She wanted to earn a spot in the championship, though. She did by finishing second in the region and will compete alongside five athlete on the men’s side, Colter Snook, Nathan Duvall, Tydon Tsosie and Emmett Edler.
(PHOTO BY DALE HIRSCHMAN)

 

ALVA, Okla. – Before the season even began, Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Payton Dingman knew she would return to the College National Finals Rodeo.

It’s a benefit of being the Central Plains Region student director, but it wasn’t enough for the all-around cowgirl.

“It bothered me that you’re given the spot to go to the college finals,” said Dingman, a sophomore from Pryor, Oklahoma. “I feel like it’s very deserving, because there’s so much work that goes into every college rodeo, but I did not want someone to think I took the director job to get to the college finals.

“I wanted to be able to say that I was a student director but also qualified myself to the college finals.”

Only the top three contestants in the standings at the conclusion of the region season advance to the weeklong championship in Casper, Wyoming. Dingman closed the campaign second in goat-tying. She is one of five Rangers who will battle for intercollegiate rodeo’s top prize, joined by team roping heeler Colter Snook and steer wrestlers Nathan Duvall, Tydon Tsosie and Emmett Edler.

This year marks the second straight qualification for Dingman, who gained some extra credit during her first trip.

“One lesson I’m going to take from my past experience at the college finals is to just go there and not overthink it,” she said. “All I can do is my job and do the best I know how to do. The outcome is going to be whatever it is, because God already knows the outcome, and I just have to live it. I’m going to go there, tie three solid goats and see where it gets me.”

Coach Cali Griffin took note of the effort Dingman has when it comes to the dual aspect of her college experience.

“Dingman had an automatic qualification, but she made it a point that she wanted to qualify anyway,” Griffin said. “I think that speaks a lot of her character.”

Of the Northwestern quintet, Tsosie is the only one who hasn’t experienced the college finals. A sophomore, he transferred from Navajo Technical University and has excelled. He finished second in the steer wrestling standings to Duvall; Edler finished third.

“At the beginning of the first semester, I didn’t expect to make it,” said Tsosie of Crownpoint, New Mexico. “I thought I was too out of it, and then I just started placing at these rodeos, and somehow the momentum just started building up. I was going up the standings and actually had a shot.”

He will ride Edler’s horse, and teammate Sam Daly will haze for all three Rangers. Tsosie has made a significant jump since moving to Northwestern.

“For my first semester, I went to a school near home,” he said. “I just didn’t have a lot of practice, not a lot of help. I wanted to go somewhere that I could be around other bulldoggers. I asked Bridger Anderson (the 2019 national champion for the Rangers) where I could go, and he told me Northwestern.

“Once I got there, I liked the practices and the bulldoggers. It was a different atmosphere than I was used to back home, because we really don’t have a lot of bulldoggers in New Mexico.”

Northwestern is known as the Bulldogging Capital of College Rodeo, and the proof came in that all three steer wrestlers representing the region come from the same university.

“Winning the region was really important to me, because that was my goal,” said Duvall, a junior from Henryetta, Oklahoma. “The reason I came back to college rodeo again was to accomplish that goal.”

Duvall, who transferred in August from Connors State College, finished fourth at Casper last June. He wants to continue to climb that ladder in 2026.

“I just need to go there and do my job,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll draw some good steers, but really, all I can do is my job. It’s you against the steers, not other people.”

Edler will return to the college finals for the third straight year. He added a year of eligibility by continuing his graduate-level studies, and he is also the assistant rodeo coach. He understands how important it is to be well-mounted, which is a big part of the process. Duvall will ride his own horse, while Edler’s D1 will be the driving force for him and Tsosie.

“That horse was still a little bit green in the buildings last fall, but I’ve taken him to a bunch of places,” Edler said. “He’s gotten better and better, and I think he’s going to be good to go in Casper.”

It doesn’t matter the event, equine power is critical in rodeo. A year ago, Snook was preparing for his first college finals as a header. Since then, he’s switched ends and has advanced to the championship as a heeler this year. He finished the season second in the Central Plains standings.

“I couldn’t have done it without my mare,” said Snook, a junior from Ford, Kansas. “I was heeling on my head horse in the fall, then for this spring, I got a new horse. The first rodeo was Manhattan (Kansas), and we won that rodeo. We pretty much got all our points in the spring.”

Roping with Dexton Hoelting of Western Oklahoma State College, Snook acquired Baby Doll after the fall run of rodeos ended. It was a Christmas gift to himself, and the biggest present will come in Casper. The 7-year-old red roan has been the star atop the tree.

“I just want to have a chance at the national title,” Snook said. “Last year, we were winning it on two (runs), and I just missed the third steer. I was trying to safety up, and I should just rope.”

That’s the approach he plans to take when competition begins June 14 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper.

“Snook came to me after the CNFR last year and told me he wanted to switch ends,” Griffin said. “He’s so talented on the head side that I’m sure we looked crazy, but when he talked about wanting to heel, he was so passionate about it that all I could do was support his decision. I knew it was truly what he wanted.

“To see that risk pay off is awesome.”