First Round of High School Finals Rodeo in the Books

BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. – A host of veterans with impressive credentials grabbed the spotlight as chutes opened on the opening performance of the 69th annual South Dakota High School Finals Rodeo in Belle Fourche on Thursday afternoon. In the opening event of the day, girls cutting, defending champion Kailyn Groves of Faith shared the best effort of the day with 146 points along with with Alexis Lopez of Keldron. In Saddle Bronc, Cash Wilson of Wall posted a 66-point trip to best the 61-point ride of Dylan Schofield of Philip. Other notables turning in stellar numbers in the opening perf included Sturgis senior to be Wacey Brown who sped through the barrels in 17.754 seconds. And Harding County’s Sawyer Gilbert, the defending champion in breakaway roping, turned in a quick 2.93 second run to nip Stanley Country’s Layna Tibbs who had a 2.94. In bull riding, event leader TJ Schmidt had the only qualified ride of the opening performance with a score of 46. State Finals rodeo action resumes today with two performances at 1 and 6 p.m.