Fresno State among four top-25 ranked teams slated for home rodeo

The Fresno State Bulldoggers club rodeo team will host the West Coast’s top collegiate talent at the Fresno State College Rodeo March 6 and 7, at the Clovis Rodeo Grounds (748 Rodeo Drive).

The team’s only home event of the season starts from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday evening with the opening round. Saturday’s slack round from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. will feature the remaining competitors in all 10 men’s and women’s events.

The top 10 combined qualifiers from the first two rounds will compete Saturday in the championship round from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Fresno State men’s and women’s teams both rank second in the region and 24th and 25th nationally, respectively, after the fall season’s two events.

Admission is $10 for each session on Friday and Saturday evening, $5 for Fresno State students with a campus ID, and free to youth ages 12 and younger.

Saturday morning’s slack session is free. Spectators that bring five cans of food to donate to the Bulldog Pantry can get free admission to the Saturday evening final round. 

Among the competition’s 15 other collegiate teams, the Feather River College men's team ranks 15th nationally, and the Cuesta College women's team ranks 13th nationally.

Other teams that are entered include Butte College, Cal Poly, Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State, Clovis Community College, CSU Stanislaus, Lassen College, UC Davis, University of Nevada, Reno, UNLV, West Hills College and Western Nevada College. Fresno State senior Mitchell Parham leads the region in bareback riding and ranks eighth nationally.

Two other men’s team members rank top three in the region - junior Reed Neely (second, saddle bronc) and sophomore Cole Dodds (third, team roping heeler). Both Neely and Dodds rank top 25 nationally, and all three riders are returning College National Finals Rodeo qualifiers.

Fresno State freshman Rylee George ranks 16th  nationally in the women's all-around standings and 22nd in the breakaway category, and second in the region in each event. Freshman Machaela Sinclair stands third in the region in goat tying. 

Complete national and regional rankings are available at: http://www.collegerodeo.com/standings.

For more information, visit the the Fresno State Rodeo Team Bulldoggers Facebook page.