The Dickinson State men's and women's rodeo teams used a home-arena advantage to their full benefit.
The Blue Hawks find themselves sitting atop of four events with three in the runner-up positions after the first day of the Blue Hawk Stampede on Friday at the DSU Outdoor Arena.
Overall, DSU head coach Eudell Larsen said it was good day to be at home.
"We've got kids that are doing real well in almost every event," Larsen said. "You hear other sports talk about home-field advantage and it holds true in rodeo too."
Dalton Rixen, a DSU freshman and graduate of Richardton-Taylor High School, leads the saddle bronc riding after a 73-point ride. He leads Mitchell (S.D.) Technical Institute's Kyle Hapney, who leads the Great Plains Region standings in the event, by three points.
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"I don't have anything to lose," said Rixen, who is currently sitting third in saddle bronc riding in the Great Plains Region. "I was happy with my performance."
The DSU freshman said it was nice to finally score a ride.
"It was about time to have one go my way," Rixen said. "I've been getting bucked off a few. It feels good to get one covered."
Blake Smith and Jordan Pelton sit first and second, respectively, in the bareback riding. Smith scored a 77 while Pelton had 70.
DSU junior Cody Hilzendeger leads tie-down roping after a time of 10.1 seconds.
In the women's events, Victoria Netzer and Michaela Kathrein sit first and second, respectively, in barrel racing. Kathrein, from Dickinson, sits fourth in the Great Plains Region standings with 475 points.
The top three contestants in each event qualify for the College National Rodeo Finals. Kathrein trails South Dakota State's Taryn Sippel, who is currently in fourth in the barrels, by 10 points.
"It made the run I needed to," Katherin said. "I'm just going to go out tomorrow and make another run and go from there."
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Whether she makes the college rodeo finals or not, Kathrein said she has had an outstanding season.
"I didn't look at the standings until last weekend," Katherin said. "I know that either way, it's been a successful season."
Bobbi Grann and Skye Schaper are second and third, respectively, in goat tying. Grann is ranked second in the event for the Great Plains Region with 855 points. She trails Black Hills State's Joey Painter in the region standings and in the Blue Hawk Stampede.
The rodeo concludes at 1 p.m. today at the DSU Outdoor Arena. Larsen hopes the team can have another successful day at home.
"I definitely think you're more comfortable at home," Larsen said. "You know the arena, the home crowd cheering you on. It's definitely a plus."
Blue Hawk Stampede
At DSU Outdoor Arena
Bareback riding: 1, Blake Smith, DSU, 77. 2, Jordan Pelton, DSU, 70. 3, Travis Fagen, ICCC, 68. 4, Cole Picton, ICCC, 67. 5, Nick Schwedhelm, 61.
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Barrel racing: 1, Victoria Netzer, DSU, 16.71. 2, Michaela Kathrein, DSU, 16.72. 3, Bailie Smith, ICCC, 16.75. 4, Taryn Sippel, SDSU, 16.88. 5, Shandel Yordy, BHSU, 16.89. 6, Courtney Birkholtz, SDSU, 16.99. 7, Cassidy Kohlnhofer, DSU, 17.00. 8, Marissa Wallace, UWRF, 17.06. 9, Bobbie Till, BHSU, 17.11. 10, Calley Worth, NSU, 17.13.
Breakaway roping: 1, Kristen Mlodzik, NDSU, 2.9. 2, Ashley Bateman, NDSU, 2.9. 3, Katie Doll, BHSU, 3.0. 4, Kaitlyn Latham, SDSU, 3.2. 5, Meg McPadden, SDSU, 3.6. 6, Bailie Smith, ICCC, 3.6. 7, Skye Schaper, DSU, 3.7. 8, Joey Painter, BHSU, 4.1. 9, Lexy Williams, DSU, 4.2. 10, Shannah Plehal, NDSU, 4.2.
Bull riding: 1, John Young, ICCC, 82. 2, Sean Nicolaus, SDSU, 73.
Goat tying: 1, Joey Painter, BHSU, 7.0. 2, Bobbi Grann, DSU, 7.4. 3, Skye Schaper, DSU, 7.7. 4, Lexy Williams, DSU, 7.9. 5, Billie Miller, BHSU, 8.1. 6, Tarin Hupp, SDSU, 8.2. 7, Cheyenne Brown, SDSU, 8.4. 8, Molly Hermelbracht, ICCC, 8.6. 9, Shasta Masters, ICCC, 8.6. 10, Allie Simons, NSU, 8.9.
Saddle bronc: 1, Dalton Rixen, DSU, 73. 2, Kyle Hapney, MTI, 70. 3, Chantry Norman, MTI, 41.
Steer wrestling: 1, Richard Coats, HC, 4.7. 2, Bryce Dibbern, UNE, 5.3. 3, Sam Olson, BHSU, 5.5. 4, Evan Entze, DSU, 5.9. 5, Jacob Edler, ICCC, 6.4. 6, Blake Boysen, MTI, 6.7. 7, Justin Zwiefel, SDSU, 6.7. 8, Mitch Morem, SDSU, 6.7. 9, Keanan Fischer, DSU, 7.2. 10, Teil Glaus, SDSU, 8.0.
Team roping: 1, Ty Krantz, BHSU, and Richard Coats, HC, 8.8. 2, Trevor Butterfield, UNE, and Tad Judge, UNE, 9.0. 3, Blake Boysen, MTI, and Chance Parr, MTI, 9.0. 4, Jesse Oliver, BHSU, and Logan Nehl, DSU, 9.0. 5, Wyatt Treeby, BHSU, and Troy Donnelly, SDSU, 9.9. 6, Jake Herman, BHSU, and Cody Hilzendeger, DSU, 10.6. 7, Jacob Elder and Cody Huber, ICCC, 13.6. 8, Lindsey Goulet and Jamie Britton, BHSU, 14.1. 9, Kaitlyn Latham and Chyenne Brown, SDSU, 14.8. 10, Justin Moulzolf and Noah Lassa, ICCC, 15.1. 11, Bailie Smith and Tanner Schult, ICCC, 15.1.
Tie-down roping: 1, Cody Hilzendeger, DSU, 10.1. 2, Sam Olson, BHSU, 10.2. 3, Cody Huber, ICCC, 11.3. 4, Ty Krantz, BHSU, 11.9. 5, Tanner Cross, MTI, 11.9. 6, Jacob Edler, ICCC, 12.0. 7, Newt Bruley, SDSU, 14.0. 8, Wyatt Treeby, BHSU, 15.1. 9, Dillon Wickum, DSU, 16.0. 10, Calder Johnston, SDSU, 16.9.
