For the first time in six years Northwest College had a finalist in the short go at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, as Chris Staley earned his way to a top 12 finish in bull riding.

Staley started off the week-long rodeo strong, riding to a third place finish in the first go with a score of 80 points with six riders making it eight seconds the first night.

Unfortunately for Staley, he was unable to cover any more bulls the remainder of the week. Coach Del Nose said he nearly covered several times the rest of the week but came up just short of scoring additional points to move up the rankings.

“He had a good effort there,” Nose said. “If he had lasted another second or two he definitely would have placed higher.”

After eight riders covered in the second go and six riders covered in the third go, Staley found himself still in the top 12 of the standings as several riders covered multiple bulls to move up.

In the championship round only one rider lasted the whole eight seconds, meaning that Staley held steady in his position and finished just outside the top 10 in a tie for 11th. With Staley making the short go, the Trappers had their first finalist since Caleb McMillan finished second in the All-Around in 2019.

“That was huge. It’s been a long time,” Nose said.

It was a good week not just for Staley but for the CNFR as a whole, which set new attendance records.

“It broke attendance records again. It’s a quality, exceptional rodeo,” Nose said.

Overall the Trappers earned a 44th place finish with 60 points earned by Staley, and Nose hot on the recruiting trail hoping to see the Trappers make a leap next year.

He said the program is expecting a strong incoming class of Trapper cowgirls next year, with 10-12 expected to compete, while the boys recruiting is continuing to go well as the Trappers look to move back up the standings next year.

“Recruiting is going well,” Nose said. “We are going to have a decent girls’ team, the first time that’s happened in a long time … Recruiting for the boys is pretty positive … We’re building for next year, hopefully things will be better.”