Gomes makes College National Finals Rodeo

Cord Gomes, of Antelope, is headed to the College National Finals Rodeo this summer.

Gomes finished third in the steer wrestling competition at the Northwest Intercollegiate Rodeo, held in Hermiston April 26-27.

Gomes competes for Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton and helped them to a second-place finish in the region. The girls squad finished second as well.

The top three finishers in each event punched tickets to the finals, held in Casper, Wyoming.

The Blue Mountain squad includes many Central Oregon products.

Gomes, though, led the pack for the men. He won the first round of steer wrestling competition on April 26 with a 4.3 seconds, and even though he broke out in the short round on Sunday, he held on to advance.

Gomes also won the round in the calf roping on Sunday, helping his team to hold onto Reserve Champion for the men behind Treasure Valley Community College. When the dust settled, Gomes was fifth in the All Around race for the Northwest Region.

Mecarte Cook, from Culver, also did well over the weekend. After not placing on Saturday, she came back to tie her goat in a 9.3 seconds on Sunday to secure her place as fifth in the region. She also will be going to Casper in June to compete in the goat tying, thanks to the BMCC somen’s team placing so high for the year.

Cassidy Clark, from Redmond, also had a good season. She ended up 10th overall in the barrel racing. Cutter Marsh, also from Redmond, did well in the team roping. He ended up winning the short go on Sunday with a 8.6 seconds and will also be competing at Nationals as a heeler, with a fellow BMCC teammate.

Parker Buchanan, from Powell Butte, won the bull riding title for the Northwest Region. Though he is battling some injuries and had a rough weekend, he is hoping to be 100% by June to represent his team in Casper. All around cowgirl winner Kennedy Buckner, from Powell Butte, had another great year. She ended up winning a round in the barrels and also the goat tying in Hermiston. The All-Around Cowgirl also won the goat tying title. She will be headed to Casper to compete in all four of her events.