ROCK SPRINGS – Jared and Bryan Lemmon, upcoming seniors at Torrington High School, are headed for the National High School Finals Rodeo this summer in Rock Springs on July 15-21 in team roping.
“It’s really cool to make it finally because we fell short last year,” Jared said. “It’s still sinking in a little bit. I’m excited.”
A year ago, the Lemmon brothers, which are twins separated by eight minutes, missed the cut for nationals, finishing fifth in the team roping standings in Wyoming, when the top-four teams got to compete at nationals.
Jared, the pairings header, and Bryan, the heeler, most recently competed at the Wyoming State Rodeo this past weekend in Rock Springs. In the second round, they posted a time of 8.21 seconds to finish second in the round. At the end of the weekend, they finished seventh in the average with their time on one head.
“It was a great weekend, even though we didn’t rope very good,” Bryan said. “There was a bunch of competition and we had to at least get one steer down to qualify for nationals. It was just a real blast. Kids that are going to nationals from Wyoming have a real good shot at representing it well.”
In the Wyoming state standings, the Lemmon brothers finished fourth with 262.5 points on the season to punch their ticket to Rock Springs. Kal Fuller (Bozeman, Mont.)/Carson Johnson (Casper), with 391 points, Weston Mills (Gillette)/Tanner McInerney (Alzada, Mont.), with 323 points, and Kolby Bradley (Big Piney)/Arye Espensheid (Big Piney), with 289 points, were the other three pairings to earn the right to represent Wyoming.
Bryan and Jared have been working on roping together since they were 6-7 years old and they hope that longevity as partners, and as twins, will pay off at nationals.
“If Bryan was to miss, I’d know exactly what he did and if I was to miss he would know exactly what I did,” Jared said. “We can kind of coach each other up if we miss, but if we catch, it’s an automatic good job and go on to the next one.
“There is obviously some competition because we are twins, but I think it helps that we are twins because we get to practice together,” he added. “We don’t get really nervous anymore because we know that we both can go out there and make a good run.”
Lemmon and Lemmon will be part of a packed team roping field at the NHSFR, which hosts 1,650 contestants from 43 states, five Canadian provinces, Australia and Mexico, according to a release from the NHSFR. In addition to vying for a national title, the twins are fighting for more than $200,000 in prizes and more than $350,000 in college scholarships.
The duo, which practices upwards of 15 hours a week on roping, credited a lot of their success to Larry Schaneman and Mac McKinney.
Southeast’s Cade Herring may also be fighting for those same prizes in Rock Springs. He, along with his partner, Billy Soderberg (Newcastle) is an alternate in team roping in the state of Wyoming. Herring and Soderberg finished fourth this past weekend in the average of team roping, posting times of 10.03 seconds in round two (sixth) and 7.32 seconds in the qualifying round (first).
Cole Lane, who went to Southeast for his freshman and sophomore year, is heading for Rock Springs as well. He finished fourth in the Wyoming standings in tie-down roping with 160.5 points on the year. The recent Morrill, Neb. graduate had a big weekend at the Wyoming State Finals, finishing second in the average with a time of 34.64 on three.
According to a tentative schedule by the NHSFR, the first performance in Rock Springs will be at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 15, with performances July 16-21 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“We are at an advantage because our state finals is where nationals is,” Bryan said of roping in Rock Springs for the third time this year. “I think we’ve got a little step up from everybody else. I think it’s a huge advantage.”
Full results for the state finals includes:
Round 1
Tie-down calf roping – 2, Cole Lane, Torrington, 11.30; 9, Jared Lemmon, Torrington, 18.78; 10, Bryan Lemmon, Torrington, 19.15.
Team Roping – 8, Blake Afdahl, Torrington, Brayden Wiesen, Carpenter, 12.62.
Barrel Racing – 9, Kadra Clark, Yoder, 18.288.
Round 2
Tie-down calf roping – 3, Bryan Lemmon, Torrington, 11.21; 9, Bodie Herring, Veteran, 12.75; 10, Cole Lane, Torrington, 12.88.
Team Roping – 2, Bryan/Jared Lemmon, 8.21; 6, Cade Herring, Veteran, Billy Soderberg, 10.03, 10, Cole Lane, Torrington, Justin Skarohlid, Cheyenne, 22.23.
Breakaway Roping – 1, Kadra Clark, Yoder, 2.56.
Goat Tying – 1, Kadra Clark, Yoder, 7.34.
Qualifying Round
Tie-down calf roping – 4, Blake Afdahl, Torrington, 10.05; 5, Cole Lane, Torrington, 10.46.
Reined Cow Horse – 5, Tierney George, Torrington, 141.5.
Team Roping – 1, Cade Herring, Veteran, Billy Soderberg, Newcastle, 7.32; 5, Bodie Herring, Veteran, Dawson McCuin, Gillette, 19.92.
Average on 3
Tie-down calf roping – 2, Cole Lane, Torrington, 34.64.
Team Roping – 4, Cade Herring, Veteran, Billy Soderberg, Newcastle, 17.25 on 2; 7, Bryan/Jared Lemmon, 8.21 on 1; 10, Blake Afdahl, Torrington, Rayden Wiesen, Carpenter, 12.62 on 1.
Reined Cow Horse – 5, Tierney George, Torrington, 414.5.
Goat Tying – 7, Kadra Clark, 17.19 on 2.
