By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
With the fall semester behind them, the women of the Fort Hays State University Rodeo team is working to continue a positive year as the first event of the spring semester nears.
“We're making some good progress this semester,” said coach Guy Forrell. “Kamryn (Smith) and Jessi (Ross) had a good fall in the breakaway roping — that's our primary event. They also worked team roping. And so we're really excited to have these two, they're really the two leaders on the team and certainly our women's team continues to get tougher.”
He said while there are currently some holes in the programs, practices are going well this semester.
“We're eighth in the region right now,” Forrell said. "And that's a really strong showing. We have the opportunity to move up to fifth place, look into point structure the rest of the semester, it's going to be tough to move up and beat some of those Oklahoma schools in the rest of the semester, but we're very positive about it. We were excited to move in and really everybody that's in front of us are all Oklahoma schools.
“Coming from Oklahoma, I want to go back and beat them.”
Due to the structure of the sport, Forrell said rodeo teams compete with a wider group of participants than typical collegiate sports, with competition growing each year.
“These teams have become so competitive,” he said. “We compete in the Central Plains region, which is all of the junior colleges and the universities within the state of Oklahoma and Kansas, one of the most competitive regions in the nation.
“What is unique about rodeo in college rodeo is that we do compete on the same level with junior colleges and so some of these junior college programs are very strong and so that's kind of what we're facing. Central Plains is tough.”
And moving up the rankings is team effort.
“On a college rodeo team ... everyone competes together,” Ross said. “But of course, there's women's events and men's events, but the women can actually rope with men in the team roping. But for the points team on a college rodeo team, there's four women and six men that can compete for points for the initial year-end, to get to the College National Finals. And so just those four and six men and women that are picked on the team.
“If they make a short round, they get points that contribute to the team to go to the year-end.”
The rodeo team is set to return to action on Feb. 18 at Kansas State University in Manhattan.
“We're excited to go. It's usually pretty cold, but we've been practicing in the cold,” Ross said.
And Smith said her desire to compete is stronger than the recent cold weather.
“It's mainly just a drive,” she said. “I want to compete, and I want to be good, so I put the practice in and you know, layer up.”
For both Ross and Smith, a highlight of the upcoming semester is the FHSU Rodeo, scheduled to begin April 14.
“I do like rodeoing here at Hays just because you get the hometown feeling,” Ross said.
“I would say just like Jesse said, my favorite probably would be our hometown for the hometown crowd,” Smith said.
Forrell said this year’s rodeo will move to the Ellis County Fairgrounds and he hopes that a large crowd will take advantage of the larger facility than used in the past on the FHSU campus.
“We always are challenged with the weather here in northwest Kansas,” he said. “But when we have good weather years, it's great, we get good crowds.”
“It's gonna be on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday this year, just because Sunday falls on Easter," Ross said. "So, it is going to be a really good turnout, I believe, because it's going to be a new place for people to come watch us and support our team.”
For more information about the FHSU Rodeo Club, visit fhsu.edu.