Draws for UT Martin Contestants in Upcoming College National Rodeo Announced
With the start of the 76th Annual College National Finals Rodeo rapidly approaching, the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association revealed its draws for the weeklong event that will feature three University of Tennessee at Martin participants.
More than 400 cowboys and cowgirls from 100 different universities and colleges will descend upon the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyo. for the 2024 edition of the CNFR, which runs from Sunday, June 9 through Saturday, June 15.
Included in this year’s field are Skyhawk representatives Clint Southworth, Madde Shelton and Leah Pitts as the trio will each be making their CNFR debuts. UT Martin head coach Chase Thrasher will boast at least one participant on each of the preliminary days with the exception of Wednesday. The top 12 contestants from saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, bull riding, tie down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, breakaway roping and goat tying will advance to Saturday with the hopes of being crowned a national champion at 7 p.m. MDT.
Pitts will be the first Skyhawk to see action at this year’s CNFR as the junior out of Gallatin, Tenn. is taking part in the breakaway roping event. She opens with a Sunday matinee performance at 1 p.m. MDT before competing in the slack portion on Tuesday at 7 a.m. MDT. Her third ride is set for the performance round on Thursday at 7 p.m.
A senior from Bagdad, Ky., Southworth makes his CNFR debut in tie down roping on Monday in the slack round (7 a.m. MDT). His second ride will take place during Tuesday’s slack portion at 7 a.m. MDT while his third opportunity will come during the performance round on Friday at 7 p.m. MDT.
Representing UT Martin in barrel racing, Shelton also begins her CNFR run on Monday as she is part of the 7 a.m. MDT slack round. A busy Tuesday is scheduled for the senior out of Fayetteville, Tenn. as her second go is set for the slack round (7 a.m. MDT) before returning for her third chance in the performance round later that evening at 7 p.m. MDT.
To view the official position draws for the 76th Annual CNFR, click here: https://cnfr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CNFR2024PositionDraws.pdf. The daily order of events can be found at this link: https://cnfr.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CNFR2024-Daily-Events-Order-Summary.pdf. Daily results can be found at the conclusion of each performance round here: https://collegerodeo.com/cnfr/cnfr-2024-results/. All performance rounds from Tuesday through Saturday will be streamed live on ESPN3 at this link: https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/3e99c57a-516c-385d-9c22-2e40aebc7129#bucketId=29789.
