ALVA, Okla. – When L.J. Yeahquo to transfer to Northwestern Oklahoma State University, he did it for two primary reasons.

“I want to complete my MBA, get my master’s degree in business in April, and continue to rodeo,” said Yeahquo, a graduate student and team roping heeler on the Rangers rodeo team from Mandaree, North Dakota. “I also wanted to come to school here because of Cali. She’s the reason I wanted to come to Northwestern to continue to rodeo.”

Cali Griffin is in her first year as the rodeo coach, and she’s been a major influence on the men’s and women’s teams in a short time. Her style and personality resonates with the student athletes, and Yeahquo is proof that good things come to those who wait. Partnering with header Delton O’Steen of Murray State College, Yeahquo won the team roping title this past weekend at the Oklahoma State University rodeo in Stillwater.

“It’s pretty neat, because that’s the only rodeo in the Central Plains that me and my brother hadn’t won,” he said, referring to his longtime heading partner, J.C. Yeahquo, who will rope at his first National Finals Rodeo this December with Buddy Hawkins. “It’s nice that I was able to get that one in.”

The brothers began their intercollegiate careers at Western Oklahoma State College in Altus and finished second at the 2021 College National Finals Rodeo. While his brother has focused on ProRodeo in 2024, L.J. Yeahquo is continuing to get a foothold in college, albeit at a new school and with a new partner.

While he’s made a name for himself as a heeler, Yeahquo is pretty savvy on both ends of the team roping spectrum. He trains heading horses, so he began the region season as a header.

“After the first couple of rodeos, it wasn’t very beneficial to me, so I went back to heeling,” he said, pointing out a simple strategy that helped him and O’Steen take the top spot in Stillwater. “Catch the cow; win the prize.”

That sophomoric approach is one that pays off more times than not. Yeahquo and O’Steen stopped the clock in 6.6 seconds to finish third in the opening round, then were 5.9 seconds in the championship round to win it and the aggregate race. The 160 points Yeahquo earned pushed him into a tie for seventh in the region standings.

“That was the first rodeo Delton and I roped together,” said Yeahquo, who is originally from western North Dakota now lives in nearby Crescent, Oklahoma. “Delton did a good job of scoring, riding and roping, and he made it easy to give me layups.”

Yeahquo led the way, but other Rangers scored in Stillwater. Header Colter Snook of Dodge City, Kansas, moved into the stop spot in the standings by placing in both rounds and finishing third in the average while roping with Cale Morris of Western Oklahoma. A trio of others – tie-down roper Jacob Haren of Calloway, Nebraska, and steer wrestlers Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa, and Logan Mullin of Clay Center, Kansas – also made the championship round.

Kinlyn Yadon of Otterbein, Indiana, was the driving force for the Northwestern women. She finished in a tie for second overall in goat-tying, placing fourth in the first round and second in the short round.

“The key for me was preparation and confidence,” said Yadon, a freshman. “This past week before Stillwater, we really just grinded. We put a lot of work into our practices and focused in on what we needed to do, and I really think it paid off this weekend.”

Her success at OSU was the first of her intercollegiate career, but it’s something on which she hopes to build.

“To be completely honest, I’ve had a rough season so far,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve even put one good run together, so I think my long-go run in Stillwater is helping me get the ball rolling.”

The 125 points she gathered pushed her into a tie for sixth place in the Central Plains’ goat-tying standings. Teammate Payton Dingman of Pryor, Oklahoma, won the short round and finished fourth overall and is tied for first in the region. The comradery they’ve acquired in a few weeks helps everyone as they build toward a future together in Alva.

“I was originally going to go to Fort Scott (Community College) to be with Cali,” Yadon said of Griffin, who was the assistant coach in southeastern Kansas last season. “When she came here to Northwestern, I jumped ship and came with her. Cali and I have been friends for a long time, so I came out here to be coached by her.”

It’s paying off. The Rangers men are fourth in the region with six events remaining, while the women are third in the standings. Both teams are well within range of taking the top spots when the 10-event campaign concludes next spring. The next step is a week and a half away, when Northwestern hosts its rodeo at the Alva Dome.

“I just want to focus on the next one in front of me, so I want to make it back to the short-go again at Alva and just put two runs together,” said Yadon, who also competes in breakaway roping. “Then in the spring season, I just want to do the best I can on each goat I’m given.”