Eastern New Mexico University’s rodeo teams concluded the 2025 portion of their season at an event hosted by Clarendon College in Childress, Texas. The men’s team finished sixth overall, highlighted by a first-place finish in tie down roping by Jacob Walters. The women’s team placed eighth, with Mackinzee Dermody scoring points in goat tying.
Head coach John Sharp spoke about the contributions of graduate transfers from Texas Tech, stating, "Jacob (Walters) finally had a weekend where tie down went his way. Experience matters. They are two solid veteran competitors and are such a blessing to a team."
Both Walters and Cutter Pareo qualified for the finals in tie down roping. Walters recorded a time of 9.7 seconds in the long round, leading the field, and improved to 9.3 seconds in the short go to secure first place for the weekend. This performance moved him into the top ten regionally for that event. Pareo finished ninth in both the long round and overall standings with a 14.8-second run.
Orran Hart was another point scorer for the men’s team. The first-year student from Eagle Bend, Minnesota reached the short go in steer wrestling with a time of 10.5 seconds and improved to 9.1 seconds in the final round, earning fifth place for that segment and fourth overall.
On the women’s side, Mackinzee Dermody was the sole point earner for Eastern New Mexico University. Her 7.1-second run in goat tying earned her advancement to Saturday night’s finals where she posted a time of 6.7 seconds, finishing fourth both in that round and on average.
Reflecting on the competition, Sharp said, "We are looking forward to this break. Tough rodeos are going to happen. They are not always going to be diamonds."
The teams will now have a three-month hiatus before resuming their season with five remaining rodeos as they prepare for the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming.
