Rodeo is becoming a big deal in Grand Junction.  After the 2023 season that saw the first ever Colorado Mesa women's team qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo the Mavericks are doing it again, and this time they're doing it with authority.
 
After a school record breaking weekend in Salina, Utah that accounted for 760 team points, the CMU Women are currently ranked No. 1 in the Rocky Mountain Region and more importantly No. 1 in the nation.  All three women's events were won by CMU, with each one constituting a different route to the top.  In the Goat Tying, the highlight was four out of five CMU women making the short round, and the one that didn't only missing the cut by .1 second.  Mckenna Clingman of Laramie, Wyo. came in tied with her own teammate Haylee Stroud at a 9.3 but laid down a short-round winning run of 7.2 that held her to third in the average, while Taylor Davis stayed consistent for a fifth-sixth place tie, and Justise Jones built off her high call position with the second fastest time in the short round for the average win and 170 points.
 
Breakaway was no different, except this time it was Wylee Mitchell leading the charge to the short go. After a short round in which the calves proved to be inconsistent, Clingman roped a rodeo best 2.5, capturing the go round win and allowing her to walk away the average winner. However, she again was joined in points earnings by Stroud, Jones, and Mitchell.
 
Barrels, by all accounts, seemed for a minute like it was allowing history to repeat.  In 2023, teammates Wylee Mitchell and Izzy Yama did the improbable, and tied for the two head average victory.  This year, Izzy Yama showed her affection for the Black Hawk arena by winning the first round, and Mitchell proved that she to has a soft spot for the arena that hosts some many high caliber barrel events every year by placing third in the round.  In the short round, Wylee drew top of the ground and laced an event best 15.85, setting the stage for another CMU win.  An unfortunate knocked down barrel did take Yama out of the average, but Davis, the senior transfer from Dodge City Community College, showed her value by shaving .1 seconds of her first round time and placing fifth.
 
When all was said and done the CMU women all moved up the standings as a team and individuals.  Currently, Wylee Mitchell looks to repeat as regional champion with her No. 1 standing in Barrels, Mckenna Clingman looks for her second regional title in three years and uses her position of first in goat tying and seventh in breakaway to hold the reserve champion All-Around spot, second only to teammate Justise Jones who is fifth in breakaway, second in goat tying, and top-20 in barrels for her #1 standing in the All Around.

Another highlight of the weekend was Tonopah, Nev. native Kayden Henderson, who missed the first semester's rodeos while healing up from a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum suffered at the Weber State Rodeo in 2023.  In a weekend that was only his second rodeo back he won his first ever college average title, and moves to number 3 in the region, which would put him qualifying for the CNFR.