FRC Rodeo team tops in the region

     The Feather River College Rodeo Team gave the home crowd quite a show over the weekend at the Plumas-Sierra County Fair.  The FRC men’s team has jumped out to the early lead in the regional standings for the first time since the program started three years ago. Bareback and Saddle Bronc rider Steve Hacker placed in both events and was one of the top point earners of the whole rodeo.  Josh Daries freshmen talent from Salinas also did well in the Saddle Bronc and Bull

Riding. The Saddle Bronc Riding was FRC’s strongest event at the rodeo currently FRC is winning 1, 3, 4, and 5th  in the region in the event. Steve Lassen, Ad Bugenig Steve Hacker and Roy Johnson comprising the top 5. On the timed event side FRC faired well Sierraville’s Riley York placed in the Steer wrestling and is currently sitting near the top of the regional standings. Joe Nash also is right at the top of the tie down roping.  While Salinas Valley cowboys Orie Lemmons and Joey Jansen are both ranked in the steer wrestling events. Cliff Bernal proved his worth by placing in the team roping.

              On the women’s side the freshmen girls were not affected by the older girls from UNLV, Fresno State, and Cal Poly.  Sami Jo Morisoli, Kylee Colmer, and Megan Mcginn all placed in the goat tying, Sami Jo actually won the event.  Jenna McCarthy showed the guys, roping with Shawn manning also on the FRC rodeo men’s team.  The two placed in the team roping event. Sophomore Brittany Parmeter is currently 1st in the barrel racing.

              This is the strongest men’s and women’s team the college has fielded since the inception of the program 3 years ago.  The men’s team is ranked first in the region, and the women’s is third but the point total is very tight among the top three. The rodeo team is very thankful and proud of the support that the community showed over the weekend by braving the bad weather, and supporting our team.  The rodeo team travels to Lassen college in three weeks for their next rodeo

               Rodeo Team Back in Action

            The FRC rodeo team got back into action on the 13th of August 2007. With over 60 members on this year’s team, the week before school started was the perfect opportunity to get a jump on practice.  From 7:30 in the morning until 7 or 8 at night the rodeo students practiced hard with not even enough time to take a lunch break. Flying U Rodeo sent up Reno Rosser, Jeff Shearer and a Semi load of stock for the FRC rodeo team.  We also had Broncs from Chuck Morris and Rockin M Rodeo.  Steve Holbrook, Tim Woods and Rod Teeman brought up a couple goose neck loads of Bulls. Joe Ketter also came up and helped out for the week. Over the week we bucked over a 100 head of Roughstock, so by Friday everyone was a little sore.  On the Timed Event side. With 50 head of steers and 50 calves the timed event guys and gals got all they could handle after a long summer off.   It was a great way to start off the fourth year of competition for the FRC Rodeo Team. 

FRC Rodeo to send 5 to 07' College National Finals

The FRC Rodeo team finished the regular season strong last weekend at the beautiful South Point Casino and Hotel equestrian center in Las Vegas NV.  When it was all said and done 5 students from the FRC rodeo team had qualified for the College National Finals in Casper, WY.  Four out of five of the qualifiers for the FRC team are freshmen. Adam Bugenig from Ferndale Ca. qualified in the Saddle Bronc Riding.  Jesse Gonzales from Santa Barbara, Ca., qualified in the bull riding. Scott Gill and Cliff Bernal both qualified in the team roping, along with sophomore Joe Nash who also competed at the college finals last year. 

Sophomore Blaire Bidwell was injured during the regular season and missed two rodeos but was still able to qualify for the college finals.  Unfortunately her injury is too severe for her to compete.  She will undergo knee surgery next week, and she will continue on to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, in the fall with a full ride scholarship. 

The rodeo team would like to thank everyone for all of their support of the past year, and hopefully we will bring home a national championship to FRC.

 FRC Shines at Hometown Rodeo

FRC students made the hometown proud at the 3rd annual Feather River College Rodeo. Over 200 contestants from 15 colleges and universities throughout California and Nevada made the trip to the Quincy and the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds on a beautiful fall weekend. The competition was tough, two of the teams in the region are ranked in the top ten in the nation, and Feather River College is currently ranked 25th in the Nation.

Rough stock cowboy Jesse Gonzales made quite an impression, winning the most points in bull riding for the weekend and a new gold and silver buckle.  Jesse was injured in the beginning of the rodeo during the bareback riding competition, he rushed over to the hospital and received 7 staples in his head, but he didn’t let this stop him. With his head wrapped in white gauze, he was quite the spectacle riding the back of a bucking bull – but he did it with gusto and won the performance for an astounding comeback.

Tyson Torvik also had a great weekend, not only did he place in both steer wrestling and team roping, but he also won first place and received a buckle in the calf roping competition. Richie Coefield, Joe Tipton, and Cliff Bernal also had a very productive weekend, each one placing in multiple timed events.  While rough stock cowboys Ad Bugenig, Steve Lassen, Josh Gullett, Steve Hacker, Dana Madden, and Russell Hansen all placed on the rough stock side.

The FRC cowgirls weren’t about to let the boys out do them. Women’s Team Captain and Rodeo Club President Blaire Bidwell won the women’s all-around and goat tying buckles.  Natalie Canelis, FRC Student Body Vice President, placed in goat tying and FRC freshman Jessica Moore placed very high in barrel racing.

Many students on the FRC rodeo team moved up the national standings ladder this weekend. FRC is now ranked in the top 20 in the Nation and numerous students are ranked in the top 25. 

FRC Rodeo Team Gears Up for Hometown Rodeo

The Feather River College rodeo team hosts its third annual college rodeo this Saturday and Sunday, October 20 – 22, 2006 at the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds. Performances start at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and the top ten finals will be Sunday at noon.   On Saturday, for every spectator that wears pink, a portion of the $5.00 admission will be donated to the Quincy Breast Cancer Support Group. Immediately following the rodeo on Saturday will be a BBQ and Dance at the nearby Commercial Building.  The cost is $18.00 for the dinner and dance and $8.00 for just the dance.

This year’s rodeo is sure to be a spectacular event. 15 colleges and universities from throughout Nevada and California will be competing for points and championship buckles.  College rodeo is different than many other sports. FRC is one of the smallest community colleges in California, however, the rodeo team will be competing against much larger four-year universities, such as UCLA, UNLV, Cal Poly, and Fresno State. Right now the FRC rodeo team has 10 students ranked in the top 25 nationally. The men’s team is third in the region and the women are currently ranked fourth.  The team has been practicing daily and hope to better their rankings at their only home rodeo of the 2006-2007 school year. Don’t miss this chance to see your local cowboys and cowgirls in action!

Feather River College Makes Second Year impact on CNFR

             Feather River College rodeos second year ended on a good note.  The five students who qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming were all first timers there.  However, it did not stop them from making an impact. The women’s team ended up 33rd overall in the nation, including four year universities, and 9th among two year colleges.  The men’s team ended up 39th in the nation and 15th among junior colleges. 

              On the women’s side Blaire Bidwell  and Raylene Segura both made FRC proud. Raylene placed in goat tying and Blaire did great in both barrel racing and goat tying.  The men’s team had Tyson Torvik and Joe Nash competing in team roping and Stephen James competing in Bull Riding. Tyson and Joe showed them how it was done on the heeling end and Stephen made a good showing in the bull riding.

              All of last year’s competitors except, Raylene Segura will be returning for this fall to rodeo at FRC again. Raylene is transferring on to the University of Nevada in Reno to pursue her degree in Business Administration.   Tyson, Joe, Blaire, and Stephen have their goals set on leading the Golden Eagles further into next season’s competition.   

FRC Qualifies five for College National Finals Rodeo 

 The new South Coast Casino Equestrian Center in Las Vegas was the site of the West Coast Regional Finals hosted by UNLV.  This past weekend was the first rodeo held in the new arena, and Feather River College proved themselves by qualifying five team members for the National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming held June 11- 17th.

 Freshman Blaire Bidwell continued her dominance by capturing the women's all around title.  Blaire accumulated more points in three events than any other competitor in the region.  Along with the all around Blaire also finished second in the barrel racing.  She will be competing in the barrels along with the goat tying at the National Finals. Also qualifying on the women's side is Raylene Segura who won second in the region in the goat tying.   The men's team will be taking three to the College Finals - Tyson Torvik and Joe Nash in team roping and Stephen James in bull riding.           

The National Rankings are set and FRC is ranked fairly well. The women's team is ranked 17th in the nation. Blaire Bidwell is ranked 8th in the Women’s All Around and 19th in the Barrel Racing. Along with Blaire on the women’s team, Raylene Segura is ranked 20th in the Goat Tying.

 On the Men’s side FRC rodeo’s two team ropers Joe Nash and Tyson Torvik are ranked 14th and 18th respectively.  Bull rider Stephen James is in the top 30 in the nation. The FRC rodeo team will be heading to professional and amateur rodeos during the summer months trying to help pay their way through college and stay sharp for the college finals and next falls rodeo season.