The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association is a fantastic forum for up-and-coming stars.

Over the years, I’ve been blessed to tell stories of great young champions, like Taos Muncy’s double-dip of a college title and world championship in 2007 or Jet McCoy’s quest to clinch that elusive all-around College National Finals Rodeo title a decade ago to countless other tales.

While I’ve written about Cody DeMers (College of Southern Idaho), Steven Dent (Ranger College in Texas) and Nikki Steffes (University of Wyoming), most of my time has been around the NIRA’s Central Plains Region, which consists of colleges primarily in Kansas and Oklahoma.

There’s good reason for that. I graduated from two colleges with teams in the region – Pratt Community College and Fort Hays State University, both in Kansas – and I worked for Oklahoma’s largest newspaper for several years. Another big reason is that it’s one of the most competitive circuits in college rodeo.

Expect to see more on college cowboys and cowgirls on TwisTED Rodeo.