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July, 2006
Cal Poly's Ben Londo is Top Cowboy
at National Collegiate Rodeo Championships
 SAN LUIS OBISPO - Cal Poly junior Ben Londo won his second consecutive Men's All-Around title at the 2006 College National Finals Rodeo last weekend in Casper , Wyo. The 58th annual event ended the 2005-2006 season for the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.
Londo, a construction management major from Milton Freewater, Ore., finished second overall in saddle bronc riding (fourth in the first go-round and second in the final go-round). In bareback riding, he finished second in the second go-round, ending the competition with 220 points and the Men's All-Around title. Flint Lee from UNLV and Jared Hall from the University of Arkansas finished second and third.
Londo had a spectacular rodeo season, finishing as best male all-around competitor in the West Coast Region and third best nationally. According to Cal Poly rodeo coach Frank Mello, winning the NIRA all-around title twice is extremely rare. "He's good - really good. He's just a good kid, and he works hard," said Mello.
Cal Poly students did well in several other events. Ted Bert placed tenth in steer wrestling and eighth in bull riding (after placing fourth in the first go-round and eighth in the third go-round). Dallas Osburn and Joe Clarot placed in team roping. Osburn finished fifth in the first go-round and Clarot finished fifth in the second go-round.
Kelsey Johnson, Jodi Coppini and Sadie Myers competed in breakaway roping. Johnson finished sixth in the first go-round and fourth in the third go-round. Myers placed seventh in the second go-round.
Kalli Collins finished ninth in goat tying. Collins finished first in the third go-round, but lost the lead in the final go-round by just a tenth of a second to hometown favorite Kayla Nelson from the University of Wyoming .
The women's team finished the NIRA competition in eighth place, and the men's team finished in ninth place. All together, 59 men's teams and 36 women's teams competed.
Cal Poly's men's and women's rodeo teams both finished the season in first place in NIRA's West Coast Region standings. Additionally, the women's team was the third best team in the nation this year, while the men's team ended the season in seventh place nationally.
This was the last NIRA competition for Osburn, a graduating senior. The women's team will lose Myers, Coppini and Marcey Teixiera. The rest of the men's and women's teams will be back to compete in the 2006-2007 season. "Next year we'll be back, bigger and stronger," said Mello.
For more information and complete competition results, visit the NIRA Web site: http://www.collegerodeo.com/.
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