NMSU roper Garza wins national
team roping title
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for large version.)
Date: 06/21/2006
Contact:
Jim Dewey Brown, (505) 646-3659, brownji@nmsu.edu
Reporter:
Darrell J. Pehr, (505) 635-2017, pehr@nmsu.edu
When the rope
cinched tight around the rear legs of a steer Saturday night in the final round
of the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., Matt Garza and his team
roping partner captured the first national title for New Mexico State University
since 1990.
Garza, of
“I would have liked to have had a little more time to spare,” Garza said. “It
made us that much more aggressive. We knew we had a pretty tough job to do. We
knew we had to give it 110 percent.”
In their championship run Saturday, Means, the header on the team, quickly
roped the steer’s head, then held and turned the steer to give Garza, the
heeler on the team, a clear shot at the back legs, which also must be roped.
“My partner did an outstanding job, so I didn’t have to take a wild shot,”
Garza said. “He didn’t make him really wild. He was gathered and his feet were
together.”
The clock showed the time of the run – 6.5 seconds – fast enough for a
championship.
“My partner threw his hat in the air,” Garza said. “When I realized we had won,
I lost it. I went nuts. I threw my hat and we did our victory lap.”
NMSU also had top national finishes from calf roper Wacey Walraven of
For Garza and Means, their victory means $1,500 scholarships, custom roping
saddles and other winnings. For NMSU’s rodeo program, the victory is symbolic
of the success the growing program has seen over the past several years.
“It gives us a little recognition that we are contenders,” said Coach Jim Dewey
Brown. “It shows that we do have great athletes coming to this school.”
The national title is the first for NMSU since 1990 when bareback bronc rider
Randy Slaughter won the event.
Garza and Means roped together all season and captured the regional
championship before heading to the national finals, where Garza was ranked
eighth in the nation and Means was seventh. Means plans to transfer to NMSU in
the fall.
Garza grew up around team roping and started competing when he was 14. His
father, Homer Garza, taught him how to rope and has been his primary coach
through the years. Matt Garza said attending NMSU offers him both an
opportunity to be part of a good organization and the benefits of being able to
practice at his home.
“This school’s a great school,” he said. “The championship means a lot to me.
I’ve worked really hard. I was really excited to be going up there and
representing our team. It’s unbelievable to come out on top. It was like a
dream come true.”
Garza and Means have been friends since competing in high school rodeos, and,
not long after going to college, they agreed to team up.
“I picked him because he’s really dedicated,” Garza said. “He always makes sure
he has a really good horse and you can always find him in the arena. He’s a
winner and you want to be with the best.”
What does it take to succeed at the national level?
“A lot of hard work and dedication,” Garza said. “If you want it bad enough and
work on it hard enough, you can accomplish it. You have to have a good horse.
You have to practice. You have to love the sport. I fell in love with it and
ever since, I crave being out there and competing.”
Garza said the growth of the rodeo team, thanks largely to rodeo supporter
Frank DuBois, made a big difference in helping him choose to attend NMSU.
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be there rodeoing for NMSU,” Garza said.
Garza was one of 21 recruits who were awarded DuBois scholarships in 2004-2005,
along with Walraven and Norell. Garza was awarded the Hotch and Carolyn Manning
rodeo scholarship. As of last fall, the team included 41 scholarship athletes
in the program, which DuBois organized and expanded as the team has grown over
the past several years.