CASPER, WY – Saturday night at the College National Finals Rodeo featured a Golden Eagle for the third time in the last four years, and for the first time in women’s program history, a bit more than just memories are coming back with the Laramie County Community College.
That included a Reserve All Around Champion and the highest placing team in the history of LCCC rodeo.
Sophomore Rayne Grant posted a 14.29 in her final run during Saturday night’s short go which was the eighth fastest of the go and helped her to finish fifth in the average with a total of 57.04 on four runs.
“It feels really good,” Grant said afterwords. “It was a lot of stress and pressure but the whole experience, it was really amazing. I’m really thankful to be here.”
The pro Wyoming crowd was something that Grant was impressed by during the performance in front of a sold-out Ford Wyoming Center.
“It’s hard to hear, but for the most part you hear how loud it is, and it’s cool to see the crowd get excited for Wyoming contestants,” the Wheatland, Wyoming native said. “They really love that so it’s cool to be in that atmosphere.”
Grant finished with 145 points with the finish and with points in both breakaway’s second go and in barrels, the Golden Eagle finished as the Reserve All Around Champion, becoming the first to achieve that feat in school history for either men or women.
“It’s awesome,” Head Rodeo Coach Dean Finnerty said. “She’s worked her butt off and done will with her horses to be very successful and kudos to her. She did a really nice job.”
The success for LCCC didn’t stop there. Kassidy Dunagan helped to chip in another 15 points in the team score and that was the best finish for a Central Rocky Mountain Region school, ahead of Gillette in tenth place and the University of Wyoming in 19th.
The team finished with 160 points, which helped them to finish in eighth place as a team which is the highest finish in school history at the CNFR for the women’s program and is the first team to ever finish in the top ten, including men or women.
Finnerty said this has been a process that all of the coaching staff has helped to move forward.
“Seth did a great job when he was here, and I think Vicki and I have followed up on that and tried to keep it going and with Tyler Corrington there it’s helped out. Hopefully we will have some more kids of Rayne’s quality and keep on doing good,” he said.
“It’s super cool just to experience it all,” Grant said echoing her coach. “To have the support system from the coaches. It’s been an amazing experience.”
Grant will be moving on to the University of Wyoming in the fall to rodeo with former LCCC Coach Seth Glause, but the Golden Eagles will be returning Dunagan to the roster along with a full slate of new recruits on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Success from athletes like Grant and Dunagan is key to the program continuing to bring in top quality athletes.
“Our kids are some of our best recruiters,” Finnerty said. “They like our program, and they tell their friends about it and that’s how we get most of our kids. It’s pretty cool and it’s fun to watch.
Be sure to follow along with all updates for LCCC Athletics on the Golden Eagle social media pages or follow along on www.golccc.com.