ALVA, Okla. – A couple of Northwestern Oklahoma State University ropers members returned to their home state of Kansas last weekend and captured titles for the Rangers.
Chase Boekhaus, a senior heeler from Rolla, Kan., won the team roping championship at the Pratt (Kan.) Community College rodeo while competing with Ethan Fox of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The tandem roped two steers in a cumulative time of 14.8 seconds to claim the title.
More importantly, he moved to No. 2 in the Central Plains Region heeling standings with 210 points, just 20 behind the leader, Lane Reeves of Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
Meanwhile, breakaway roper Micah Samples of Abilene, Kan., posted a two-run cumulative time of 8.2 seconds to win that title in Pratt. She, too, is the second-ranked roper with 160 points, just 15 points out of first.
“I’ve already got more points this year than the first three years I college rodeoed,” said Boekhaus, who began roping with Fox at the beginning of the season.
In fact, the two cowboys had never met until they prepared to compete at the first rodeo of the season in Colby, Kan. Fox had texted another Northwestern cowboy about partnering, and it eventually led to Boekhaus. Now they’ve placed at the first two events of the 10-rodeo season.
“Hopefully we can keep it going and make the college finals,” Boekhaus said. “We just need to make sure we catch. He’s pretty smart about his roping. He’s got a good horse, so he rides up there to rope right and sets me up.”
It’s one thing to have a good partner. It’s another to be roping well. The tandem is. Fox and Boekhaus posted a 7.7 on their first run to finish fourth in the long round. They returned with a 7.1 to win the championship round and the average championship.
“I feel pretty good about my roping,” Boekhaus said. “At these rodeos, you just try to be clean and not mess up.”
The Northwestern men are fourth in the Central Plains team standings, while the women are second. Other Rangers who made Pratt’s short round were barrel racer Kylee Cahoy; goat-tiers Kodi Hansen, Lauren Barnes and Casey Campbell; heeler Tad Sheets; headers Dalton Richards and Layton Legasse; steer wrestlers Stephen Culling and Ryan Domer; and tie-down ropers Trey Young, Hayden Pearce and Tee Hale.
The Rangers will have a couple weeks to prepare for their home rodeo, which will take place Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in Alva.
“I think we can do some good things,” Boekhaus said of the team. “I think we’ve got some good guys that can help.”
It will take that type of talent and commitment for the teams to finish the season strong and earn a spot in the field for the College National Finals Rodeo.