NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
MSC 3189, P.O. Box 30005
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003-8005
(505) 646-3007
http://nmdaweb.nmsu.edu
NEWS RELEASE
| Wednesday,October 3, 2001 |
Contact: Olivia Lara, Public Relations Specialist |
| For Immediate Release |
Ricardo Rel, Special Assistant to the Director
Office: (505) 646-2804 |
NMSU HEELER DOMINATES RODEO COMPETITION IN DOUGLAS, ARIZONA
Thomas Places High in Team Roping at Final Rodeos of the Season
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- New Mexico State University (NMSU) team roper, Aaron Thomas, placed an impressive four times in the Grand Canyon Region double-header hosted by Cochise College on September 28-29, 2001, in Douglas, Arizona. Thomas, a sophomore from La Mesa, New Mexico, placed 
second with a time of 6.5 seconds and third with a time of 6.6 seconds on Friday. On Saturday Thomas placed first in the same event with a time of 5.3 seconds and placed second with a time of 5.5 seconds. "I certainly couldn't have done it without the help of my partners or my horse. I'm just hoping to help our team qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo next summer," says Thomas.
Another top performer was James Green, a freshman from Socorro, New Mexico. On Friday Green placed second in bareback riding with a score of 58 points and third in bull riding with a score of 62 points. On Saturday he placed first in bull riding with a score of 72 points.
Other good performers included Bill Snure, a junior from Rodeo, New Mexico; John Pete Etcheverry, a sophomore from Carlsbad, New Mexico; and Jolene Rosson, a senior from Phoenix, Arizona. On Friday Snure placed first in team roping with a time of 5.9 seconds and fourth in calf roping with a time of 10.6 seconds. Etcheverry placed third in two separate events; team roping with a time of 6.6 seconds and calf roping with a time of 10.5 seconds. On Saturday Etcheverry placed first in team roping with a time of 5.3 seconds, Snure placed third in calf roping with a time of 9.8 seconds, and Jolene Rosson placed sixth in breakaway roping with a time of 5.9 seconds.
For more information about the NMSU Rodeo Team, contact Quentin Talbot at (505) 523-5135. For more information on the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship program, contact Frank A. DuBois by e-mail at rodeo@nmsu.edu or logon to http://www.nmsu.edu/~duboisrodeo/.
Editor's Note: Media interested in obtaining a photograph of Aaron Thomas may contact Beth Miller of the NMDA Public Relations Section at (505) 646-3008.