Kaufman ties for 11th in bareback riding at CNFR

CASPER, Wyo. -- Blaine Kaufman was Fort Scott Community College's highest finisher at the National College Finals Rodeo here last week, finishing 11th in the nation in bareback riding.

Kaufman, a freshman, was one of six FSCC cowboys who qualified for the CNFR. He was the only one to reach the short-go (finals) in his event.

Kaufman, Austin Graham, Tyler Pasour, and Ryan Rickman all qualified in bareback. In the first round of qualifying, Kaufman tied for 14th with a score of 69.5. Graham was 22nd with a 65.5, Pasour 26th with a 53.5, and Rickman failed to post a score.

In the second round, Kaufman was second with 77 points. Graham and Rickman tied for 18th with 67 points each and Pasour finished 33rd with 56.5 points.

In the third and final round of qualifying, Kaufman tied for 10th with 74 points. Graham finished 22nd with 66.5 points and both Pasour and Rickman were unable to post scores.

Kaufman was not able to score in the finals and finished in a tie for 11th place. The national champion in the event was Devan Riley of Gillette College (Wyo.), with scored 81 points in the final.

Cody Hamm qualified for the CNFR in saddle bronc riding. He was unable to score in the first two rounds of qualifying and his score of 71, good for seventh, in the final round was not enough to advance to the finals based on the cumulative scores. Spencer Wright of the College of Southern Idaho won the national championship with a 79.5 in the finals.

Chelse Day competed in bull riding but was unable to stay on long enough to score in any of the qualifying rounds. Timothy Bingham of Hill College (Texas) won the championship with a total score of 250 points.

Panhandle State (Okla.), one of the schools which competes in the Central Plains Region with FSCC, won the men's team title with 820 points. Southern Idaho was second with 345 points followed by Tarelton State University (Texas) with 735. Fort Scott finished 34th with 90 points.

Other Central Plains finishers in the top 20 were Southwestern Oklahoma State, seventh with 455 points; Northwestern Oklahoma State, 13th with 345 points, and Western Oklahoma State College, 17th with 225 points.

Idaho State University won the women's team title followed by Northeastern Junior College (Colo.) and Tarelton State. NWOSU was ninth and SWOSU finished 10th. FSCC did not have any women entered in the CNFR.