The Missouri Valley College men’s and women’s rodeo teams finished their competition regular seasons last weekend, and the final Ozark Region standings have been released. The men’s team captured an eighth-straight region title, and the women’s team placed fifth. Head Coach Ken Mason was also named the Ozark Region Coach of the Year.

Mason was named the Ozark Region Coach of the Year for guiding the program’s to a first and fifth place finish during the 2023-24 competition season. In addition to the Ozark Region title, the men’s rodeo team currently sits third in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association standings. Mason gives a lot of credit to his team and is thankful for the men and women he’s able to coach.

The men’s team dominated the region standings, finishing with a total of 7,765 points to win an eighth-straight Ozark Region championship. Second place was West Alabama with 4,110 points on the season.

Leading the men’s team was Ty Pope, who claimed region titles in three separate categories. Pope won the men’s all-around with a total of 2,940, more than doubling the second place finisher’s total. Pope also finished first in the bareback riding standings, with 1,420 points, and added a first place finish in saddle bronc riding with 1,520 points.

In addition to Pope’s title in bareback riding, four other members of the team finished in the top six of the event standings. Kooper Heimburg was the reserve champion with 1,165 points, followed by Colton Eck in third place with 1,145 points. Jason Wilson was fifth overall with 560 points and Hayden Leavell was sixth with 440 points.

In saddle bronc riding, Samuel Freeman was reserve champion with a season total of 1,305 points.

The women’s team finished fifth in the Ozark Region standings, earning 1,501.66 points on the season. West Alabama won the region with 3,525 points, followed by Pearl River (Miss.) in second place with 2,215 points.

The women’s team was led by Betsy Roemer, who finished fourth in goat tying with 633.3 points. Gabby Roberts was tenth in the event with 190 points. In breakaway roping, Kenlie Raby was eighth with 255 points and Roemer added a 12th place finish with 185 points. In barrel racing, Kalyani Das was tenth with 190 points.

Mason said the teams faced a lot of adversity throughout the year, but continued to work through it all. The team now prepares for the College National Finals Rodeo in June.

The 2024 College National Finals Rodeo takes place June 9-15 in Casper, Wyoming.