HURON, SD – A handful of Western Montanans competed in the Junior High National Finals Rodeo last week. Cash Trexler of Corvallis proved he belonged on the big stage.
Trexler made the final round in two events. The state champion in breakaway roping finished second overall after three rides in the arena.
Trexler’s first ride of 3.31 seconds took 16th place in the round. 2.78 seconds in his second performance ranked tenth in the round. That was enough to put Trexler in the final round, where he took eighth with a time of 3.13 seconds. In total, the 9.22 seconds landed Trexler in second place, behind Connor Barton of Texas, who totaled 8.39 seconds.
Trexler also reached the final rides in goat tying, finishing 17th overall. A time of 12.76 seconds in his first ride had him in 54th place. But Trexler bounced back with a time of 9.59 seconds, seventh best in the second round. He then took 13th in the finals with a time of 13.11 seconds, ending with a total of 35.46 seconds.
Bigfork’s Lexi Murer just missed out on a spot in the final round. She wound up 21st in the nation in pole bending, after securing the final spot in the big event by taking fourth in the Montana state finals. Murer sat 34th after the first round with a time of 21.946 seconds. She took 36th with a better run of 21.057 seconds in her second round. The cowgirl’s total of 43.003 seconds came just a couple seconds away from the top 19 that advanced to the final ride.
A few other Western Montanans could not complete scoring rides in Huron. Bull riding state champion Zane Schroeder of Missoula did not finish an eight-second ride in either of his attempts. Stevensville’s Logan Gerhard was a state champion in team roping with Gavin Garrison of Glen, but couldn’t catch a calf in two rides. Gerhard also competed in rifle shooting at the National Finals. And the team roping pair of Ryle Lytle from Ronan and Ryley Knutson of Polson had no time in two rides in the arena.
