Busy weekend for EWC sports teams
EWC rodeo team opens 2023-24 season
By Keeley Puls
EWC rodeo team member
CHADRON, Neb. – It was a successful weekend for the Lancers of Eastern Wyoming College, with six student athletes heading back to the short round at the Chadron State College Rodeo.
“It was hot today,” RaeLee Caldwell laughed when asked how her weekend went after an excellent afternoon in Chadron “but it is a good start.”
The Gillette native won the long round with a 6.9 second run in the goat tying Friday morning and finished out her weekend with a 7.1 second run in the short go, producing a number one spot for the freshman.
Sage Shrunk from Valentine, Nebraska and Carter Anderson from Merriman, Nebraska produced a championship weekend as well in the team roping with an 8.1 in the long go and a 9.3 second run to clinch the average win for the weekend.
“Everything felt pretty good today,” Shrunk claimed when asked about how he felt about his first colligate rodeo runs.
Freshman Sam Andrews, out of Bowman, North Dakota ended his weekend sixth in the average in the calf roping with a 12.6 long go run and a 14.8 second run in the short go. Returning sophomore, Coy Thar, a Rozet, Wyoming Native ended the weekend with a 12.8 and a 16.6 short go run for seventh in the average. Jessica Woodward, of Custer, South Dakota also won points for the women’s team with an 8.2 second long go and a 9.4 to finish out her weekend sixth in the average in the goat tying.
The EWC women’s team ended up third in this weekend’s regional standings with 170 points and the men’s team tied the University of Wyoming for third as well with 320 points respectively.
“It was good to get out of the practice pen and compete this weekend, and I’m proud of what the team accomplished,” head coach Whit Peterson stated.
The Lancers will be heading to Riverton next weekend for the Rustler Roundup Rodeo hosted by Central Wyoming College.
EWC golf wins home tournament
By Andrew Towne
TORRINGTON – The Eastern Wyoming College golf team returned to its winning ways over the weekend, picking up the tournament win by eight shots over Central Wyoming College.
The Lancers shot seven-over-par 583 over the course of the two days, while Central Wyoming College was 15-over-par with a 591.
The Lancers battled rain on Thursday before Mother Natured cleared up on Friday, providing a sunny day for golf.
“It rained almost all day on us the first day,” EWC coach Zach Smith said. “We got off to a solid start on Thursday in the rain and were able to put another solid team effort together on Friday to get the win.”
Individually, Taiki Sugawara led EWC with a two-under-par weekend with rounds of 68 and 74 to finish tied for second. Ryker Dunkley finished fourth with rounds of 74 and 70 to finish even par on the weekend. Joshua Chapman and Tytan Birchell tied for sixth, shooting three-over-par 147. Braylon Bingham and Leander Suttka tied with 148 for a four-over-par weekend.
Coltin Powell finished just outside the top 10 with an 11th-place finish with a 149, while Brodey Deacon was tied for 14th with a 151. Jax Oviatt tied for 19th with a 154, while Jordan Hunt was one shot behind Oviatt with a 155. Mathis Fortin placed 24th with a 156. Tyler Wallace tied for 25th with a 157, while Tyler Fraser rounded out the Lancer scoring with a 171 to finish 40th.
“I’m proud of how the guys played, especially the second team who played very well on day two,” Smith said. “We need to bring down our stroke average if we are going to accomplish some of our goals. I really enjoy this group of guys and I’m looking forward to our next tournament.”
They travel to Hastings, Nebraska on Sept. 25-26.
Lady Lancer volleyball goes 2-2 at WyoBraska Invite
By Andrew Towne
TORRINGTON – The Eastern Wyoming College volleyball team returned home this weekend, looking to snap an eight-game losing streak.
They did just that in the opening round of the WyoBraska Invite on Thursday night against Colorado Northwestern Community College.
They defeated the Spartans 25-11, 25-17, 25-15.
The Lady Lancers raced out to a 15-3 lead in the opening set and never trailed the entire match.
No stats were available at press time.
On Friday, the Lady Lancers took Missouri State-West Plains down to the wire, falling 3-2 (22-25, 28-26, 25-17, 16-25, 15-7).
Freshman Belle Dolan led the team with 14 kills, while sophomore Ana Djurovic added 13. Freshman Sydney Anderson chipped in eight. Freshman Morgan Lonn led the team with eight assisted blocks, while freshman Siale Unufe added six. Sophomore Keelie Bunker led the team with 31 digs.
Friday night, EWC was swept by Trinidad State College 25-23, 25-16, 25-12.
Djurovic led the team with eight kills, while Bunker had two aces and 14 digs. Djurovic, Lonn and Unufe had three assisted blocks.
The Lady Lancers wrapped up the weekend with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) victory over Lake Region (North Dakota) State College.
Djurovic led the team with 16 kills, while Unufe added 10. Bunker tallied 23 digs, while Unufe had eight assisted blocks and one stuff block.
The Lady Lancers are now 6-12 on the season as they head into Region IX North Divisional play this week. They played at Laramie County on Tuesday and travel to Gillette College on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday.
