Weidenbener wins national title, Graff takes reserve championship

Weatherford College team roper Cashton Weidenbener brought home a national championship from the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. Weidenbener (heeler) and Cason Richey of Texas Tech University (header) posted a 6.0 in Saturday night's finals at the Ford Wyoming Center, keeping their top position and winning the title with a total score of 26.2 over four rounds.  

"It feels amazing," said Weidenbener. "It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. I probably don't show much emotion, but it meant a lot to me." 

Weidenbener and Richey had not roped together until the CNFR, with only one practice session before competition began.  

The pair was in second place after the first round, third after the second round, and then vaulted to first place after the third go, leaving just Saturday night's finals to lock up the title.  

This is the fifth individual rodeo national title in WC rodeo history (Cody Tew, 2007 team roping-header; Arena Robertson, 2008 women's all-around; Cole Wheeler, 2016 team roping-header; Jace Helton, 2022 team roping-heeler). 

Weidenbener is a Payson, Arizona, native and will now enter professional rodeo full time. 

WC's Jacee Graff won the reserve national championship in goat tying, finishing in second place.  

The St. George, Utah, native was consistent throughout the CNFR, with scores of 6.6, 6.5 and 6.2 before Saturday night's 6.0, giving her a 24.5 in the average. 

Prior to the CNFR, Graff had shattered WC's regular season goat tying points record with 1,057; the previous record was 665, set by Kody Engle in 2008.