High school rodeo competes in Cottonwood
The riders and ropers from the California High School Rodeo Association (CHSRA) got their last rides in before the Challenge of Champions by taking part in the rodeo held over the weekend in Cottonwood.
The Challenge of Champions will be held March 23-25 in Plymouth, with the top three from all the districts taking part.
Red Bluff's Casey Meroshnekoff got the most out of his weekend, earning All-Around honors with a total of 75 points.
His showing included a first in bareback (135 points), a fifth in tie-down roping with a time of 24.66 seconds in the short go, and a sixth in team roping, where he paired with Red Bluff's Cole Robinson. The duo got the job done in 8.78 seconds in the short go.
Sterling Humphrey of McArthur won tie-down with a time of 28.19, while the top team ropers were Williams' Chase Alvernaz and Chico's Colby Chambers (20.22).
Wyatt Brown of Red Bluff came in sixth in tie-down at 32.23/1, with Cole Robinson of Red Bluff taking second in steer wrestling with 7.90/1, and Red Bluff's Pierce McClelland second-best in saddle bronc with 123 points.
Kyle Brown of MacArthur took steers with 27.07, and Quincy Crum of Little Valley won saddle bronc with a score of 129.
Wyatt Brown was also part of the third-place team in roping, along with Chelsey Bushnell of Red Bluff (35.32).
The battle for All-Around Cowgirl featured a distinctly Tehama County flavor, with Bushnell riding away with 79 points. Grace Bertelsen of Los Molinos was second runner-up with 61, and Lily Bertelsen of Los Molinos tied for third and fourth runner-up with 51.
In the individual events, Bushnell finished second in barrel racing (36.47 seconds) and third in pole bending (46.01). The respective winners of those events were Caitlin Campbell of Klamath Falls (36.26 and Shelby Adams of Cottonwood (44.21).
Cara Hencratt of Red Bluff won breakaway roping in 17.19 seconds, and was joined by Macy Cox of Arbuckle, 27.59 (3rd) and Grace Bertelsen, 16.50/1 (9th).
Grace Bertelsen was fifth in pole bending (46.66) along with Lily Bertelsen, 48.07 (7th) and Madison Gomes of Red Bluff, 49.60 (10th).
Gomes also came in seventh in barrels, with a time of 37.46.
The Bertelsens' 13.69/1 was good for ninth in team roping.
