06/21/2026
Champions crowned at 2026 College National Finals Rodeo
CASPER, Wyo. (June 20, 2026) – After finishing as college rodeo’s reserve champion ba****ck rider in 2025, Kooper Heimburg of Missouri Valley College got the title that he has been working for, but he had to share it.
The ba****ck riding at the 2025 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) has been extremely tough and close through the first three rounds of competition. That continued in the final round where the top three athletes were separated by just two points. During the final round, Tarleton State University freshman Daxtyn Feild rode Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics horse Lewandowski’s Shoutin’ Shoes for 85 points, the highest of the night.
Feild started the night in third place but that 85 put him in the lead. Then Carson Hildre from Clarendon College and Heimburg rode. When it was all said and done, all three athletes tied for the championship with a total score of 326.5 points on four rides.
This was Heimburg’s fourth qualification and last time for the San Tan Valley, Arizona, athlete to compete with college rodeo’s best. Feild, from Roosevelt, Utah, is following in his uncle Kaycee Feild’s footsteps. The older Feild won the title here in 2008 before going on to win six world championship buckles in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Hildre is from Velva, South Dakota and is also making his first appearance for the Texas college that has produced several collegiate champions.
Tie-down roper Tyler Hansen started his CNFR strong and finished the same way. The senior at Bismarck State College in North Dakota earned the championship with a total time of 38.3 points. Hansen, who is from Killdeer, North Dakota, also qualified for the Finals in the Ford Wyoming Center in the team roping. Although he did not have success in that event Saturday, he was still able to clinch the all-around title based on his performance across the competition.
In the breakaway roping Jessi Everett, a native Texan attending Texas Tech University, rose to the top. Everett had a total of 9.9 seconds on four runs for the championship. The communications major is competing in that event in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and making a career for herself with her own social media agency.
Tagg Bond made history in the saddle bronc riding earning the top score in every category. He won the three preliminary rounds of competition. The Clarendon College athlete from Eden, Kansas, came into the final round as a favorite to win the championship. Then, he won the final round with an 85-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics horse named Badger Mountain. His total score of 340 points earned him the championship by a whopping 17 points. His domination in the bronc riding also earned him the Men’s Rookie of the Year title.
Clarendon College won their third and final individual title in the steer wrestling with Andrew Morian from Gardnerville, Nevada. This is Clarendon’s first championship at the timed-event end and it helped them win the men’s team title. Morian had a substantial lead coming into the finals and a fourth-place finish Saturday sealed the deal. He had a total time of 17.1 seconds for the win.
The goat tying has been close all week and it finished the same way. Josie Mousel had a slight edge coming in, and kept it with a 6.4-second run in the finals. She had a total time of 24.4 seconds to earn the championship for the University of Wyoming. Mousel is a junior who will return to Laramie in the fall to finish her degree in ag communications. She also earned points here in the breakaway roping and took the women’s all-around title.
The Northwest Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association took home the team roping title with Marcus Marriott and Sam Saunders. Marriott is a sophomore from Canby, Oregon, who is attending Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon. He did the heading for Saunders, who is a freshman at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon, not far from his hometown of Homedale, Idaho. They stopped the clock in 4.4 seconds in the final round to give them 23.1 seconds on four runs and the championship.
The women’s barrel racing champion is a Texas A&M Aggie who didn’t place in the final round, but was consistent enough throughout the competition to win the title. Devin Young, a freshman from Smithville, Texas, who plans to go to pharmacy school, had a total time of 55.0 seconds. Young also helped carry the Aggies to the Women’s Team championship and was named Women’s Rookie of the Year.
The bull riding title was won by an Odessa (Texas) College athlete, but Wyoming fans were on their feet cheering for one of their own. Hayden Welsh grew up near Gillette, Wyoming and while he is following in his father, Bobby Welsh’s footsteps, his bull riding path has taken him to new opportunities. One of those has been competing in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. He qualified for the CNFR last year and finished eighth. This year, he came into the final round ranked first after riding two out of three bulls for 163.5 points. He made one of four successful rides in the finals and had the highest-marked ride of the event at 88.25 aboard a Wyoming bull from Summit Pro Rodeo named Who’s Your Daddy.
Plans are underway for the 2027 CNFR which will be back at the Ford Wyoming Center next June 13 – 19.
2026 COLLEGE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO CHAMPIONS
(times and scores are total on four)
Ba****ck – (tie) Kooper Heimburg Missouri Valley College, 326.5 points
Carson Hildre, Clarendon College (Texas) 326.5 points
Daxtyn Feild, Tarleton State University (Texas) 326.5 points
Tie-Down Roping – Tyler Hansen, Bismarck State College, 38.3 seconds
Breakaway Roping – Jessi Everett, Texas Tech University, 9.9 seconds
Saddle Bronc Riding – Tagg Bond, Clarendon College (Texas), 340 points
Steer Wrestling – Andrew Morian, Clarendon College (Texas), 17.1 seconds
Goat Tying – Josie Mousel, University of Wyoming, 24.4 seconds
Team Roping – Marcus Marriott, Blue Mountain Community College (Oregon), and
Sam Saunders, Treasure Valley Community College (Oregon), 23.1 seconds
Barrel Racing – Devin Young, Texas A&M University, 55.00 seconds
Bull Riding – Hayden Welsh, Odessa College (Texas), 251.75 points on three
Men’s All-Around – Tyler Hansen, Bismarck State College, 310 points
Women’s All-Around – Josie Mousel, University of Wyoming, 395 points
Men’s Team – Clarendon College (Texas), 1,100 points
Women’s Team – Texas A&M University, 692.5 points
Men’s Rookie – Tagg Bond, Clarendon College (Texas), 400 points
Women’s Rookie – Devin Young, Texas A&M University, 380 points
Men’s AQHA Horse of the Year – C A Breeze owned by Emmett Edler, Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Women’s AQHA Horse of the Year – Jettin to Docs Bar owned by Devin Young, Texas A&M University
Wyoming native Hayden Welsh, riding for Odessa College of Texas, captured the bull riding national championship at the College National Finals Rodeo. Welsh took first in the final round with an 88.25-point ride on Summit Pro Rodeo’s bull named Who’s Your Daddy. CNFR photo by Jackie Jensen.
