Northern rodeo, golf teams finish the fall

The Montana State University-Northern Rodeo teams wrapped up the fall Big Sky Rodeo schedule last weekend at the UM-Western Rodeo in Dillon.

The Northern men finished in seventh place with 80 points, while the host Bulldogs took first place in the team event. Northern's Robert Wagner placed fourth I the saddle bronc competition with a score of 72 points, but Wagner finished the fall season in first place in the Big Sky Region.

Meanwhile, the Lights and Skylights golf teams also wrapped up the fall schedule this past week in Great Falls. Northern was at the Meadowlark Country Club Monday and Tuesday for the UGF Invitational.

The Northern men's team finished the 54-hole tournament with a team score of 1,048 which was good for eighth place overall. Lewis-Clark State finished first with a score of 901, Westminster was four strokes back and Carroll was 12 shots off the pace.

Individually, MSU-N's Justin Newton placed 11th, shooting a 228. Newton shot rounds of 78 and 78 but finished the tourney with a stellar even-par 72. Jeremy Jensen was 13 strokes behind Newton after firing a total of 241. Jensen's best round also came in the final 18 holes when he shot 75. Also scoring for Northern was Mike Whitmore at 285 and Tanner Shanks at 294.

On the women's side, the Skylights didn't qualify for the team title, which was won by Rocky Mountain College with a 978. LC State was three strokes behind the Bears and Carroll College was distant third.

Individually, Katie Ross led the Skylights with a 21st-place finish overall. Ross totaled a 281 after rounds of 97, 96 and 88. Kristen Bense shot a 332 for the Skylights, while Harlem's Taylor Faulkinberry carded a three-round total of 336.

Both the Northern golf and rodeo teams will resume their seasons in April of 2013.

UGF Invitational

Final Results

Meadowlark Country Club

Par: 72, Yardage: 6641

WOMEN

Team scores

Rocky Mountain College 978; Lewis-Clark State College 980; Carroll College 1020; Westminster College 1023; Great Falls 1026; Montana Tech 1059

MSU-Northern--Katie Ross 97 96 88--281; Taylor Faulkinberry 112 120 104--336; Kirsten Bense 108 116 108—332.

MEN

Team scores

Lewis-Clark State 901; Westminster 905; Carroll College 913; Rocky Mountain 930; University of Great Falls 964; Montana Tech 964; Montana St-Northern 1048

Montana St-Northern--Jeremy Jensen 79 85 77--241; Mike Whitmore 91 97 97--285; Justin Newton 78 78 72--228; Tanner Shanks 102 99 93—294.