ALVA, Okla. – The new Central Plains Region 10-event season kicked off in a different location and a different feel, but the Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo team came out with two titles, strong finishes and a boatload of confidence.

Senior Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa, earned his first all-around championship at the Kansas State University rodeo, which opened the 2024-25 campaign for the first time. The event was conducted the event at the outdoor arena at Cico Park instead of its longstanding home inside Weber Hall, which is undergoing renovations.

“It was a really good weekend,” said Edler, who also shared the steer wrestling victory at the PRCA rodeo in Fort Madison, Iowa, over the same time frame. “It can be a little bit tricky traveling like that, especially in the fall, but it’s not too bad. We got up in all of our events (at Manhattan) on Saturday, so it worked out pretty good. I went up to Fort Madison Friday morning, and then got to Manhattan about 3 in the morning on Saturday and did all of the events then.”

Edler, who qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in steer wrestling this past June, placed in both rounds and finished second overall in bulldogging and also finished sixth in tie-down roping to claim the all-around prize. 

“It’s huge to start the season off on the right foot,” he said. “It helps build confidence going into these next rodeos, and I plan to just keep doing the same thing, keep chipping away and keep winning every time. Hopefully I’ll be in good position by the end of the year.”

Edler was joined in the winner’s circle by sophomore Colter Snook, a sophomore header from Dodge City, Kansas, who won the team roping championship with his heeler, Cale Morris of Western Oklahoma State College. The tandem stopped the clock in 6.8 seconds to win the first round, then managed a 7.8-second run in the final round to finish as the runner-up in the short-go; their cumulative time of 14.6 was the best of the weekend.

“Cale bagged,” Snook said of his partner’s heeling prowess in Manhattan. “I just laid up, because I knew it was going to be somewhat soft.”

Times weren’t that fast, and there were a lot of teams that missed, so securing a time was a priority for Snook and Morris. By not rushing, they took advantage of the situation.

“I just ran in the middle of (the steer), and Cale heeled him fast,” Snook said. “Sometimes the rounds get tough, but I think if you catch one, you make it back to the short-go nine times out of 10. That’s my goal. I want to catch all my steers and make the (college) finals.”

Payton Dingman kicked off her rookie intercollegiate campaign in a big way, finishing second in the women’s all-around race. A breakaway roper at heart, she added goat-tying to her repertoire once she arrived in Alva, and it has already paid off. Dingman finished the first round of goats in a tie for fourth place with a 7.7-second run, then posted a 7.4 in the final round to finish second overall. She also placed in both rounds of breakaway roping – including a 2.3 to finish second in the long round – to close out her first weekend in the Central Plains.

“I was a little nervous going into it, just because it was my first college rodeo,” said Dingman, a freshman from Pryor, Oklahoma.

The nerves were amped a bit more; it was her first time tying goats after a couple years. That came about because new coach Cali Griffin had asked Dingman to try it again.

“I haven’t tied goats in over two years, so the first week I was in Alva, Cali asked me to come out and tie with the girls and maybe get another event. I tied about two goats, and Cali said, ‘You’re tying goats for the rest of the year.’ ”

It wasn’t anything new for Dingman, who had competed in the event most of her life. Burnout came in, and she focused her attention on breakaway roping. That break is now, over, and Dingman likely will be involved in multiple events for the remaining nine events on the calendar.

“Just being around the girls here, and definitely with Cali encouraging me and pushing me and making practices fun, that makes it better,” she said. “I’ve definitely had so much fun. The horse I’ve been tying goats on is actually one of my breakaway horses. I just kind of trotted her around the pen and did some get-offs, and she took to it.”

While Dingman, Snook and Edler were the top hands for the Rangers this past weekend, there were several others who made their marks. Savannah Greenfield of Lakeview, Oregon, was in line with Dingman by finishing among the ladies who placed fourth in the long round of goat-tying, while Dale Lee Forman of Highmore, South Dakota, made the short round in goats. Breakaway roper Morgan Poust of Hughesville, Pennsylvania, was also among the Northwestern women in the championship.

Steer wrester Tevin Cowan of Harrold, South Dakota, finished third in the opening round after making a 5.3-second run. He failed to place in the short round and the aggregate.

Tie-down ropers Logan Mullin of Clay Center, Kansas; Kerry Duvall of Oakdale, California; and Jacob Haren of Callaway, Nebraska, also made the championship round with Edler. Mullin ha the greatest success, posting a 10.8-second run to finish second in the opener; Duvall was 11.0 seconds to finish third in the long round.

While many college sports have a preseason campaign, rodeo is a game that goes directly into the competition. The Rangers now have a starting point to gauge their progress, and the confidence is building with a new coach on the sidelines.

“Cali’s been a really good coach,” Edler said. “I think she’s taken a lot of good things Stockton did and is doing all the same stuff while adding in her own mix. As a team, we’re starting off a little slow, but I think in the next week or so, we’re going to be on the same page. I think we’re going to have a really good chance to have a strong team throughout the year.”

“I love Cali,” Snook said. “She talked to me before my (short-round) run and was confident in me. She told me, ‘Your horse if fast; you’re going to be fine.’ She asked my how my steer was, and I said, ‘Oh, he’s bad.’

“She’s like, ‘Well, he hasn’t met Colter Snook yet.’ ”

The foundation for team success is firmly in place in Alva.

ALVA, Okla. – The new Central Plains Region 10-event season kicked off in a different location and a different feel, but the Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo team came out with two titles, strong finishes and a boatload of confidence.

Senior Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa, earned his first all-around championship at the Kansas State University rodeo, which opened the 2024-25 campaign for the first time. The event was conducted the event at the outdoor arena at Cico Park instead of its longstanding home inside Weber Hall, which is undergoing renovations.

“It was a really good weekend,” said Edler, who also shared the steer wrestling victory at the PRCA rodeo in Fort Madison, Iowa, over the same time frame. “It can be a little bit tricky traveling like that, especially in the fall, but it’s not too bad. We got up in all of our events (at Manhattan) on Saturday, so it worked out pretty good. I went up to Fort Madison Friday morning, and then got to Manhattan about 3 in the morning on Saturday and did all of the events then.”

Edler, who qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in steer wrestling this past June, placed in both rounds and finished second overall in bulldogging and also finished sixth in tie-down roping to claim the all-around prize. 

“It’s huge to start the season off on the right foot,” he said. “It helps build confidence going into these next rodeos, and I plan to just keep doing the same thing, keep chipping away and keep winning every time. Hopefully I’ll be in good position by the end of the year.”

Edler was joined in the winner’s circle by sophomore Colter Snook, a sophomore header from Dodge City, Kansas, who won the team roping championship with his heeler, Cale Morris of Western Oklahoma State College. The tandem stopped the clock in 6.8 seconds to win the first round, then managed a 7.8-second run in the final round to finish as the runner-up in the short-go; their cumulative time of 14.6 was the best of the weekend.

“Cale bagged,” Snook said of his partner’s heeling prowess in Manhattan. “I just laid up, because I knew it was going to be somewhat soft.”

Times weren’t that fast, and there were a lot of teams that missed, so securing a time was a priority for Snook and Morris. By not rushing, they took advantage of the situation.

“I just ran in the middle of (the steer), and Cale heeled him fast,” Snook said. “Sometimes the rounds get tough, but I think if you catch one, you make it back to the short-go nine times out of 10. That’s my goal. I want to catch all my steers and make the (college) finals.”

Payton Dingman kicked off her rookie intercollegiate campaign in a big way, finishing second in the women’s all-around race. A breakaway roper at heart, she added goat-tying to her repertoire once she arrived in Alva, and it has already paid off. Dingman finished the first round of goats in a tie for fourth place with a 7.7-second run, then posted a 7.4 in the final round to finish second overall. She also placed in both rounds of breakaway roping – including a 2.3 to finish second in the long round – to close out her first weekend in the Central Plains.

“I was a little nervous going into it, just because it was my first college rodeo,” said Dingman, a freshman from Pryor, Oklahoma.

The nerves were amped a bit more; it was her first time tying goats after a couple years. That came about because new coach Cali Griffin had asked Dingman to try it again.

“I haven’t tied goats in over two years, so the first week I was in Alva, Cali asked me to come out and tie with the girls and maybe get another event. I tied about two goats, and Cali said, ‘You’re tying goats for the rest of the year.’ ”

It wasn’t anything new for Dingman, who had competed in the event most of her life. Burnout came in, and she focused her attention on breakaway roping. That break is now, over, and Dingman likely will be involved in multiple events for the remaining nine events on the calendar.

“Just being around the girls here, and definitely with Cali encouraging me and pushing me and making practices fun, that makes it better,” she said. “I’ve definitely had so much fun. The horse I’ve been tying goats on is actually one of my breakaway horses. I just kind of trotted her around the pen and did some get-offs, and she took to it.”

While Dingman, Snook and Edler were the top hands for the Rangers this past weekend, there were several others who made their marks. Savannah Greenfield of Lakeview, Oregon, was in line with Dingman by finishing among the ladies who placed fourth in the long round of goat-tying, while Dale Lee Forman of Highmore, South Dakota, made the short round in goats. Breakaway roper Morgan Poust of Hughesville, Pennsylvania, was also among the Northwestern women in the championship.

Steer wrester Tevin Cowan of Harrold, South Dakota, finished third in the opening round after making a 5.3-second run. He failed to place in the short round and the aggregate.

Tie-down ropers Logan Mullin of Clay Center, Kansas; Kerry Duvall of Oakdale, California; and Jacob Haren of Callaway, Nebraska, also made the championship round with Edler. Mullin ha the greatest success, posting a 10.8-second run to finish second in the opener; Duvall was 11.0 seconds to finish third in the long round.

While many college sports have a preseason campaign, rodeo is a game that goes directly into the competition. The Rangers now have a starting point to gauge their progress, and the confidence is building with a new coach on the sidelines.

“Cali’s been a really good coach,” Edler said. “I think she’s taken a lot of good things Stockton did and is doing all the same stuff while adding in her own mix. As a team, we’re starting off a little slow, but I think in the next week or so, we’re going to be on the same page. I think we’re going to have a really good chance to have a strong team throughout the year.”

“I love Cali,” Snook said. “She talked to me before my (short-round) run and was confident in me. She told me, ‘Your horse if fast; you’re going to be fine.’ She asked my how my steer was, and I said, ‘Oh, he’s bad.’

“She’s like, ‘Well, he hasn’t met Colter Snook yet.’ ”

The foundation for team success is firmly in place in Alva.