June 22, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Teresa Hendrix
(805) 756-7266

Cal Poly Rodeo Team Conquers National Collegiate Rodeo Championships

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The Cal Poly Rodeo Team took top honors at the 2005 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association championships last weekend in Wyoming.

Ben Londo in action at the NIRA finals

Cal Poly earned both the Men's and Women's All Around champion spots at the national finals, competing against students from 62 universities -- and finished as the No. 2 Men's Rodeo team in the nation.

"No other intercollegiate rodeo program in the nation continues to produce more individual champions and team championships than Cal Poly," said Coach Frank Mello. "I'm proud of our student athletes and our tradition."

Cal Poly's Ben Londo, a construction management major from Milton Freewater, Ore, took first place in Men's All Around with 472.5 points. Marcey Teixeira, an agricultural business student from Santa Maria, took Women's All Around, with 190 points. Teixeira also took fifth in Barrel Racing.

Marcey Teixeira in Action at the NIRA finals

The Cal Poly Men's Rodeo Team placed second in team competition among the 62 colleges competing, behind only Texas' Tarleton State University. The Cal Poly Women's Rodeo Team placed sixth in the nation among the 35 women's teams competing.

The Cal Poly Rodeo Team (l-r): Coach Frank Mello, Jodi Coppini, Marcey Teixeira, Sadie Myers, Josh Mack, Charlie Martin, Clint Miller, John Wiersma and Ben Londo. Not pictured is Clint Cooper.

In individual national championship
events, Londo placed third in Saddle Bronc Riding and first in Bareback Riding. Cal Poly's Clint Miller, an agricultural systems management student from Healdsburg, placed third in Tie-Down Roping.

This year's NIRA finals were held June 12-18 in Casper, Wyo. For more details on the finals, visit the NIRA Web site at: http://www.collegerodeo.com/index.htm.

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Editors please note: Marcey Teixeira is home in Santa Maria and available for interviews; Ben Londo is home in Oregon and available for interviews by cell phone. Photos from the competition should be available Thursday, June 23. For photos or contact information, call Teresa Hendrix at (805) 756-7266 or email Teresa Hendrix.