UW’s Latham, Hoffman hang onto goat-tying average

CASPER -- It will be an anxious three days for University of Wyoming rodeo teammates Taylour Latham and Faith Hoffman.

The UW teammates both had decent third goat tying runs Tuesday night at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper to put themselves in the average at the start of the third round. Now, they have to wait and watch how the remaining field does over the next three nightly performances to know if they gain short go bids Saturday night.

Just the top 12 marks/times throughout the week advance to the final round that determines individual event champions.

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Hoffman and Latham, who ran 1-2 in goat tying in the Central Rocky Mountain Region this past season, basically were mirror images in their three-run times.

Latham, a junior from Roosevelt, Utah, stopped the clock in 7.2 seconds, her best mark of the week, giving her an accumulated time of 23.6. Just right behind with a 23.8 is Hoffman. The Kiowa, Colo., senior posted an 8.1 on her final run.

“I drew a really good goat, and I should have been 5 (seconds) on it, but I kind of got in a rush and messed up a bit,” Latham says. “Every time I’ve been here, I’ve been relaxed, so this is really tough. I’ve always been up Thursday or Friday night, knowing where I need to be. Now, I have to play the waiting game to see if it works from here on out for me.”

Latham is currently seventh in the early third go round average, while Hoffman sits 10th.

UW senior Brandy Schaack saw her dream season come to an end without even throwing her rope in breakaway roping. The Hyannis, Neb., Cowgirl -- who earlier in the morning won the second round to score 80 points for the UW women -- broke cleanly toward her calf. However, her horse broke left, and the calf broke right, leaving Schaack to rein in her horse without attempting a throw.

Schaack was the regional breakaway champion this past season and entered the CNFR with the second-most points in the nation.

In the same event, Wilson’s Hailey Hardeman finished her first CNFR appearance with a successful 3.7-second time and was good on two of three runs during her freshman season. Hardeman was not part of the UW women’s four-member points team, but she qualified for the collegiate finals by finishing third in the region.

The only UW Cowboy to compete during Tuesday’s performance was Chadron Coffield, who closed out his third tie down roping run with an 11.2-second time. He finished the week in the event roping two of three calves for an accumulated time of 21.8.

The Yuma, Colo., junior returns today (Wednesday) for his third steer wrestling run.

* University of Wyoming press release