MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin will host the 42nd Annual Spring College Rodeo Thursday-Saturday, April 15-17, at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex on campus. The UT Martin men's team enters the rodeo as the No. 2 team in the nation and the No. 2 team in the Ozark Region. The women's team will enter the upcoming rodeo as the No. 8 team in the nation and the No. 1 team in the Ozark Region.

UT Martin head coach John Luthi said his team did a lot of good things this past weekend at the Mississippi State rodeo to prepare for this weekend.

"We should be good to go," Luthi said. "We need to take care of ourselves and take advantage of our opportunities."

The UT Martin men finished second in the Mississippi State rodeo with 440 points, while the women were fourth with 330.66 points.

On the men's side, UT Martin's James Alley finished third in the saddle bronc average, while Josh Chase won the bareback average. Casey Cason was seventh in the bareback average.

UT Martin cowboys Cory Kirk and Jordan Thrasher finished second and third respectively in the steer wrestling average.

Thrasher (healer) Brittany Pratt (header) picked up points in the team roping where they finished sixth in the average.

On the women's side, Abbey McDuff won the breakaway roping average with a time of 5.9, while Pratt was tied for third with a time of 8.5. Heather Moore was tied for eighth in the average with a time of 16.7.

Molly Alexander finished eighth in the barrel racing average with a total time of 28.96.

Pratt and McDuff picked up more points for the UT Martin women in the goat tying. Pratt was eighth in the average, while McDuff was ninth.

By virtue of working more than one event in the rodeo, McDuff finished second in the women's all-around with 163.33 points. Thrasher was fourth in the men's all-around with 150 points.

The UT Martin rodeo gets under way Thursday night, April 15, with the Tyson Obion County Complex Performance. Thursday night is bargain night and all tickets are $6 at the door.
Friday night, April 16, is the Tennessee Tractor, LLC Performance, while Saturday night's championship finals are sponsored by Martin Paving Company. Action gets under way each night at 7:30.

Free barbecue will be served from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Ned Ray McWherter Agricultural Complex Saturday, April 17 before the Edward Jones' Investments Scholarship Auction gets started.

The UT Martin rodeo teams along with the other schools in the Ozark Region are vying for the top two spots on the men's and women's side to seal an automatic berth in the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) set for June in Casper, Wyo. The top two individuals in each rodeo event will also receive automatic berths in the CNFR.

#UT MARTIN#