CASPER, Wyo. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s rodeo team put the finishing touches on a dominant performance at the 2014 College National Finals Rodeo tonight, earning the national men’s team championship with 755 overall points.
Tonight’s performance caps off a spectacular week for head coach John Luthi and UT Martin, who sat atop the men’s team standings for the final five days of the event. The previous best finish for the UT Martin men’s team at the CNFR was third place in both 1985 and 2008.
“What a blessing,” said Luthi, the 2013 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach of the Year. “The championship still hasn’t sank in yet. I am so thankful for this great group of guys. Everybody contributed points and it was a total team effort. It’s a pretty amazing feeling.”
UT Martin held off a late charge by Tarleton State University, who finished second with 730 points.
Individually, UT Martin boasted three cowboys who finished with top-four national finishes. Clark Adcock’s time of 8.8 in tie down roping earned him second place accolades in the short go while also earning a rank of second place overall (37.5). Tyler Waltz’s score of 75.5 placed fifth in the short go tonight, clinching a third place CNFR finish with 311.5 total points. Will Lummus (10.8, seventh) also competed in the short go of tie down roping this evening, finishing with an overall fourth place finish (40.1). Lummus also earned a spot in the short go finals of steer wrestling tonight but ran into some bad luck and did not score. He finished 10th in the nation in that event.
Adcock also placed third in the men’s all-around cowboy category with 270 overall points while Lummus ranked sixth in that category with 120 points.
Courtesy of: University of Tennessee at Martin