MARTIN, Tenn. — The Lions of East Mississippi Community College matched their highest men’s team rodeo finish of the season with a third-place showing at the 57th Annual UT Martin Rodeo hosted this past weekend by the University of Tennessee at Martin. The three-day Ozark Region rodeo event concluded Saturday at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex.

For the EMCC men, 340 of the team’s 435 total points were earned through the team roping event. The tandem of Waylon Buskirk and Kannon Nunnery totaled 260 team points between them to collect runner-up team roping honors based on points awarded. After finishing second in the opening round with a 7.3-second run, the duo placed third in round two for a third-place cumulative time of 19.5 seconds.

The Lions also claimed an additional 80 points in team roping with Tyler Brooks partnering with Southern Arkansas University’s Drew Dollar to grab fourth place in the event.

EMCC’s remaining 95 men’s team points were scored by Carson Powell with his fourth-place finish in the steer wrestling competition. The Benton, Arkansas product won the opening round with a 4.5-second effort in his specialty event.

In women’s competition, EMCC sophomore Shadow Goodrich collected 30 team points with her 2.5-second run in the first round of the breakaway roping event.

The University of West Alabama claimed men’s team honors with 690 points this past weekend at the UT Martin rodeo ahead of second-place Missouri Valley College (615 points). The UWA women recorded a runner-up team finish with 215 points behind Murray State University’s winning total of 270 points.

Head coach Morgan Goodrich’s East Mississippi rodeo teams are set to close out the 2024-25 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Ozark Region regular-season schedule this week at the annual Ranger Rodeo hosted by Northwest Mississippi Community College. The three-day event begins Thursday and runs through Saturday’s championship round at the Lawrence “Bud” Young Arena in Senatobia. Main competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. during each of the three days of competition. Advance tickets are on sale for $10 at nwccrangers.com/tickets and can also be purchased for $15 at the gate each night. Admission is free for children under six years old.