CMU Women’s Rodeo crowns the program’s first national champion
As the greatest season in school history unfolded, members of Colorado Mesa University’s Women’s Rodeo Team sometimes felt as if they were living an impossible dream.
Coming off a record-breaking 2023 season, the 2024 season was a display of dominating resilience. For seven weeks straight, Maverick horsewomen ranked first nationally, winning crucial rodeos against top competitors from rival states like Oklahoma, Wyoming and Texas. An accumulation of success awarded the team their second consecutive championship in the Rocky Mountain Region, but the work was not done yet.
As the season ended, the CMU Women’s Rodeo competitors knew they had one last obstacle ahead, the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR). Five teammates, four cowgirls included, and their coaches pulled their own horses from Grand Junction to Casper, Wyoming, for an epic display of courage and confidence. Among the group, CMU Rodeo’s first national champion in program history.
“It was such a surreal moment — unbelievable in a way,” said McKenna Clingman, a senior from Laramie, Wyoming, referencing when she rode her horse, Snoozy, to a first-place finish in Goat Tying at the CNFR.
Practices, long drives and day-of warmup laps were spent envisioning the exact moment Clingman would be crowned champion.
“It was heart-pumping. I couldn’t breathe. It was one of the most emotional, adrenaline-filled moments of my life,” said Clingman, referencing the moment she saw her time flash on the big screen in front of a crowd of thousands, witnessing her name climb to the top of the rankings.
“In the Goat Tying event, there is no single title out there that holds more weight than the College National Finals,” said Rodeo Head Coach Branden Edwards. “For McKenna, this was like winning the Super Bowl.”
Clingman also competed in Breakaway Roping at nationals, where she was joined by teammates Wylee Mitchell (Barrel Racing), Justise Jones (Goat Tying, Breakaway Roping) and Isabelle Yama (Barrel Racing).
A career of firsts for many, and a season of greats for most, all cowgirls walked away from CNFR with their hats held high.
Record Setting Success
Clingman won Rocky Mountain Region crowns in both Goat Tying and All-Around (a category for competitors that accumulate points from all three racing categories: goat tying, barrel racing, team roping and breakaway roping). Clingman’s point accumulation helped CMU to outscore the nearest rival, Utah Valley University, by almost 1,000 points, garnering the team the regional title.
Mitchell, CMU’s sophomore co-captain from Pioche, Nevada, won the regional buckle in Barrel Racing. Her second-string steed, Gus, was voted “Horse of the Year” in the region, after stepping in for Mitchell’s favored horse, Jack, who was injured early in the season.
Jones, a junior from High River, Alberta, Canada, was the regional runner-up in All-Around and Goat Tying, and placed fifth in Breakaway Roping.
Yama, a junior from Nephi, Utah, took sixth regionally in Barrel Racing.
“Magical definitely is a good word to describe our year,” said Mitchell. “Our team had a phenomenal season last year — the best our program had ever seen — but this one was off the charts,” she said. “We felt confident that we were going to be on top of our region again, but being ranked number one in the nation for seven weeks was surreal.”
Magical, surreal and amazing are all appropriate descriptions, but the word Edwards highlighted the most was “predictable.”
Considering last year’s team had a breakthrough season when they won the school’s first-ever Rocky Mountain Region crown, sending the same four qualifiers to the College Finals Rodeo was a testament to Edward’s praise for the group of women.
“Not only did we have a boatload of talent, but these girls work their butts off,” he said. “There was never any question in my mind that they would show up prepared and turn some heads.”
The veteran coach is optimistic that his 2025 squad is likely to compete for another regional crown, despite saying farewell to six seniors: Clingman, Taylor Davis, Hope Bondurant, Taylor Walters, Elizabeth Smith, Aleah Mazurek, and Yama, a junior who graduated one year early.
“I’m very sure that Justise and Wylee are going to continue to elevate to a higher level, and we’ve got some sophomores and freshmen who are likely to give us some solid performances,” he said. “We definitely have a chance to be a national qualifier for the third year in a row.”