Texas College Rodeo'ers Rein in National Wins
Nicole Lingo earns top 'Rookie' award

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

18-year-old Nicole Lingo of Wharton County Junior College, was presented the Women's Rookie of the Year award at the conclusion of the College National Finals Rodeo. During the competition, she also finished third in the national in breakaway roping. -- Courtesy photo

June 26, 2003 -- Several Texas cowboys and cowgirls came home with top honors from the 2003 College National Finals Rodeo held in Casper, Wyo. June 6-14.

One of the top wins was captured by Nicole Lingo of Boling, a member of the Wharton County Junior College rodeo team. The 18-year-old was awarded the Women's Rookie of the Year title with an accumulation of 239.5 points.

Lingo, who often competes in all three rodeo events offered to women - barrel racing, breakaway roping, and goat tying - took her roping talents to Wyoming and placed third in the nation in breakaway roping competition. She registered times of 2.1, 2.5, 2.6, and 3.5 seconds in the competitions. The 2.5-seconds finish gave her a first place run in the second round of competition.

"She's one of, if not the most, talented cowgirls I know," said Sean Amestoy, Wharton County Junior College's rodeo coach. "She's really outstanding; and has a great attitude and work ethic."

Lingo said she has been riding and rodeoing since she was 7- or 8-years-old. "I competed in barrels, poles, and straights. But I saw my (older) brother roping, and I told him I wanted to do that too. She he and my dad taught me."

Lingo's dad competed "a lot" in rodeos in roping events as a younger man, and her brother has also competed for many years. This year, though, he was injured when a horse fell on him. "But we're hoping to both compete next year" in the collegiate rodeo tours.

As a incoming sophomore at Wharton County Junior College, Lingo is studying computer science. Her mother is a computer programmer, and her father a roper, so she's just following both family traditions, Lingo shared.

After about a decade of rodeoing, Lingo was won 18 saddles and over 70 buckles. Last year, as a high school senior, she claimed the Texas championship in goat tying.

Winning the Rookie of the Year award during the College National Rodeo Finals was "great, it was really exciting," but she almost missed the presentation made on the final night (June 14). "I wanted to leave early, but my coach kept saying I couldn't go yet." At the event's conclusion, she was called to receive the national recognition, plus a 11-inch by 14-inch plaque.

"I'm fortunate to have her here," said Amestoy, a former rodeo competitor who has been the school's rodeo coach for six years. Lingo, a freshman, has been on the team for one year.

Other standouts from the Wharton County Junior College's rodeo teams were Zack Dishman of Beaumont who finished fourth in bareback riding and Jake Mann of Needville who finished sixth in bull riding. Overall, the college's women's team finished sixth, and the men's team finished ninth, in the College National Finals Rodeo.

The men's and women's rodeo teams from Vernon College, Wichita Falls, came away from the event with a record-setting finish. Each team won the 2003 national team championship. Four teams have won dual championships in the same year, but Vernon College is the first two-year school to win both team championships in the same year.

From Vernon College: Jaclyn Hobbs of Sallisaw, Okla., won the break away roping competition with 10.2 seconds on four; and Sterling Smith of Stephenville was named Men's Rookie of the Year.

Another top win for a Texan was claimed by Chad Eubank of Whitney, who rode with the Hill College rodeo team. Eubank was the only bull rider to last the required eight seconds on four bulls. He came away with the bull riding national title and a total of 328.5 points on four.

Texas team ropers Shane Powell of Sulphur Springs, riding for Northeast Texas Community College's rodeo team, and Justin Lovell of Grapeland, riding for Stephen F. Austin University's team, snared the national title in that event with a time of 41.1 seconds on four runs.