DPCA Junior Jase Staudt Wins National USTRC Title

"The pair needed a 10.54 to win the average and they had to trust their instincts.  They knew they could rope the steer and they knew they could win the roping.  They had that kind of confidence in themselves and in each other."

"They" in the quotation above are DPCA high school junior Jase Staudt and his team roping partner Jhett Trenary.  Jase and Jhett competed October 31 in the United States Team Roping Championships National Finals in Oklahoma City and took first place in the #10 Shoot-Out.  We sat down with Jase to learn more about how the competition works, and what it was like to win the top prize in his grouping:

"There are about 500 teams of two that come into the national competition at the #10 level," Jase explained.  "Those teams are divided into rotations, and in each rotation, each team needs to successfully rope three calves in turn.  If you miss the first, you don't get a second chance, and the same if you miss the second, so you have to rope all three.  Then the top 30 teams (determined by the fastest total times from the first three ropings) from all the rotations come together for the Shoot-out and rope a 4th calf.  The fastest total time over all four runs wins."

Jase and Jhett performed well during their rotation, and entered into the final Shoot-Out round with the fastest time from the first three runs, giving them a small lead over the next closest team.  That team failed to catch the 4th calf, while Jase and Jhett made their 4th catch with confidence, enabling them to finish the #10 Shoot-Out with a time of 30.55 seconds over all four runs and win the national title. That means that on average, they can complete a roping in just a little over 7.5 seconds!  

"Its a lot of fun because Jhett and I get to rope so much together - we just have a huge amount of confidence in each other," Jase said, and then, echoing the words of the reporter, noted: "We were just relaxed and confident we would do well." He added, "I'm just really thankful for my parents - they've sacrificed a lot - and just really thankful I get to do something that I enjoy so much."

Jase's and Jhett's results and a great deal more information on the USTRC competitions are available at the USTRC website. 

Here's a short video of the October 31st competition showing Jase's and Jhett's winning run:

Congratulations to Jase and to Jhett from all of us at DPCA!  We admire the perseverance and diligence that brought you both to a national level of competition, and give thanks with you for your success there!