June 2014 – Page 26 – North Platte Post Archive

Gering Cowboy Wins First Round of Steer Wrestling – Buffalo Bill Rodeo Results

Posted on June 19, 2014June 19, 2014

North Platte, Neb. (June 19, 2014) – A home-state cowboy did well at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo today.

Two time world champion steer wrestler Dean Gorsuch turned in a time of 3.3 seconds during the morning slack to win the first go-round.

The Gering man drew a good steer, and took advantage of it. “I knew he was supposed to be good. I got a great start, and he was good,” he said.

North Platte was his first rodeo back after suffering a torn elbow ligament. The injury happened during practice, and Gorsuch hasn’t competed since he was at the Challenge of Champions in Spanish Forks, Utah last month. The elbow “feels good to bulldog,” he said, “but it hurts to do normal things.” He plans on having Tommy John surgery after the rodeo season ends, and after he has competed at the National finals Rodeo, he hopes. He knows he has to qualify for the NFR first. “I gotta make it there first, but we keep trying.” He’s currently ranked eighth in the world.

He competed on his second go-round steer during slack but didn’t fare as well. “My second one, I should have done a lot better. I was going to make another fast run, and I should have just slowed down.” His time was 11.1 seconds, too slow to place in the second go-round and in the average.

Gorsuch and his traveling partners, Rhett Kennedy, who is currently leading the second go-round with a time of 3.5 seconds, Gary Gilbert, Josh Peek, and Aaron Vosler, will leave for a rodeo in Pleasant Grove, Utah on Friday, then make their way to Reno, Nev., Greeley, Colo., and then Cowboy Christmas, the Fourth of July run, the busiest part of the pro rodeo season. Sometimes his sons Taydon (nine), Trell (five) and Teagan (14 months) travel with him, but not on this trip. They’ll stay home with mom Bekah, play baseball, and wait for dad to come home.

North Platte is a special rodeo for him, and as close to a hometown rodeo as he can have. “I feel like this is my hometown rodeo. You get to see family and friends, and I love it. My grandpa ranched north of Mullen and neighbored with (fellow NFR qualifier and bareback rider) Steven Dent. I love this rodeo.”

Other leaders from the Thursday night performance are bareback rider Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., (78 points), steer wrestler Denard Butler, Warner, Okla. (4.5 seconds), Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan. (9.2), team ropers Chace Thompson, Munday, Texas and Jett Hillman, Purcell, Okla. (5.1), and barrel racers Cindy Gillespie, Ransom, Kan., and Amy Prather, Goddard, Kan., both with times of 17.66 seconds. In the saddle bronc riding and bull riding, the horses and bulls won; there were no qualified rides in either event.

Tonight was Tough Enough to Wear Pink night at the rodeo, and three cancer survivors: Kandi Franklin, Brule, Amberlee Martin, Stapleton, and Terry Martin, North Platte, were honored. All three women went through the Callahan Cancer Center at the Great Plains Regional Medical Center.

Night number three of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo takes place on Friday, June 20 at the Wild West Arena in North Platte. Tickets are available online atwww.NebraskaLandDays.com, at the NLD office or at the gate.

Preston Kafka, Wagner, S.D. gets bucked off the Beutler and Son Rodeo saddle bronc Fist Full of Dinero at the 2014 Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte. Photo by George Hipple.

Results, 2^nd Performance and slack, June 19, 2014

North Platte, Nebraska – Buffalo Bill Rodeo

Bareback riding

1 tie Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont. 78 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo Co.’s Roger Rabbit and Joe Gunderson, Agar, S.D. 78 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo Co.’s 423; 3. Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D. 76; 4. Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo. 74

Steer wrestling

1^st go-round (completed after slack)

1 Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. 3.3; 2. Tyler Haugen, Sturgis, S.D. 3.9; 3. tie Stockton Graves, Alva, Okla. and Chad Van Campen, Granada, Colo. 4.1; 5. Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla. 4.2; 6. tie Brad Johnson, Reva, S.D. and Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb. 4.3; 8. Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss. 4.4

2^nd go-round

1. Denard Butler, Warner, Okla. 4.5 seconds; 2. Cole McNamee, Pine Bluffs, Wyo. 4.6; 3. Benjamin Robinson, Colby, Kan. 5.2; 4. Dan Cathcart, Carpenter, Wyo. 5.6

Tie-down roping – 2^nd go-round

1. Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan. 9.2; 2. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas 9.4; 3. Ryan Watkins, Bluff Dale, Texas 9.7; 4. Jess Woodward, Dupree, S.D. 12.7

Saddle bronc riding

No qualified rides.

Team Roping

1^st go round (completed after performance)

1. Chace Thompson, Munday, Texas/Jett Hillman, Purcell, Okla. 5.1 seconds; 2. Ty Blasingame, Sugar City, Colo./JW Borrego, Weston, Colo. 5.4; 3. Brian Dunning, McClave, Colo./T.J. Watts, Eads, Colo. 5.5; 4. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas/McCoy Profili, Anderson, Texas 6.3

Barrel racing

1. tie Cindy Gillespie, Ransom, Kan. 17.66 and Amy Prather, Goddard, Kan. 17.66; 3. Emily Holton, Tonganoxie, Kan. 17.80; 4. Bobbi Grann, Sheyenne, N.D. 17.96

Bull riding

No qualified rides.

** All results are unofficial.

Avalanche Sign Jamie McGinn to 2-Year Deal

Posted on June 19, 2014

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche signed left winger Jamie McGinn to a two-year deal Thursday.

The 25-year McGinn had 19 goals and 19 assists in 79 games last season in helping the Avalanche tie a franchise record with 52 wins. He also had three game-winning goals.

Avalanche executive Joe Sakic said McGinn “played an important role for our team” as they made the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10.

McGinn was acquired by Colorado in a trade with San Jose on Feb. 27, 2012.

Avs in Running for Awards after Surprising Season

Posted on June 19, 2014

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche could be wearing out the red carpet at the NHL awards show next week with all the players they have up for honors.

Semyon Varlamov is in the running for top goalie, Nathan MacKinnon up for best rookie and Ryan O’Reilly a candidate for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. Coach Patrick Roy also could be recognized for his work behind the bench.

It was just that kind of season for the surprising Avalanche, who tied a franchise record with 52 wins as they returned to the postseason after a three-year absence.

The attention now — with the nominations and all — is “exciting,” Roy acknowledged.

Ex-Husker Scherr Collects USA Wrestling Honor

Posted on June 19, 2014

Former Husker wrestler Bill Scherr earned USA Wrestling’s Myron Roderick Man-of-the-Year Award on Thursday, an accolade that recognizes an outstanding man for his contributions to the sport of wrestling.

Scherr served a pivotal role in keeping wrestling as an Olympic sport, as he chaired the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW). In the position, Scherr developed the working structure of CPOW, ran weekly conference calls to help with CPOW’s strategy, oversaw the international relations area of CPOW and served as a spokesman for the organization.

Scherr has served on USA Wrestling’s Board of Directors and coached numerous teams, including the Women’s World Team. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1998 as a distinguished member after achieving success on the international level.

Scherr made one Olympic appearance, capturing the bronze medal at 220 pounds in 1988. At the FILA World Championships, Scherr earned four medals from 1985 to 1989. He took first place at 198 pounds in 1985, while earning runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1989, and a third-place result at the 1987 World Championships.

While at Nebraska, Scherr capped his impressive career with the NCAA title at 190 pounds in 1984. The three-time All-American earned a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 1983 and finished fourth in 1982. Scherr completed his career at Nebraska (1981-84) with a record of 133-18.

Scherr’s brother Jim, also a former wrestler at Nebraska, took home USA Wrestling’s Man of the Year Award in 1994. In addition, former Huskers Jordan Burroughs (2012) and Rulon Gardner (2000) have earned the accolade.

USA Wrestling Release Link: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2014/June/19/Bill-Scherr-named-USA-Wrestling-Man-of-the-Year

Transfer Rule Changes Coming, but Who Makes Call?

Posted on June 19, 2014

The leaders of big-time college sports agree that transfer rules need to better accommodate players.

The days of coaches having a say in where an athlete can transfer could very well be going away, though it’s not likely deregulation will lead to a system in which athletes come and go as they please.

How that change happens is up for debate.

The wealthiest college football conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Conference, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference) are willing to work with all of Division I to come up with a solution, but they also want the power to make their own transfer rules if need be as part of an autonomy structure the NCAA is moving toward.

That worries the schools outside those powerful leagues, concerned they’ll be in danger of losing their best players to the Big Five.

Florida Woman Charged with Branding Children

Posted on June 19, 2014

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) — A southwest Florida woman is facing charges after authorities say she branded her two children with a heated stick.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office says 23-year-old Kayla R. Oxenham of Port Charlotte was arrested and charged with child neglect earlier this week. Officials say Oxenham heated a stick with a lighter and burned her children, ages 5 and 7, in order to mark them as her own. The woman reportedly promised the children ice cream after the burning.

Allegations of abuse were first reported in March to the Florida Department of Children and Families. The case was then turned over to the sheriff’s office.

Online jail records list Oxenham’s occupation as a medical assistant.

She was released on $15,000 bail Wednesday. The jail records didn’t list an attorney.

District to Phase Out Coal at Omaha Plant

Posted on June 19, 2014June 19, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Power District board has decided to phase out coal to generate electrical power at its Omaha plant.

The board said in a news release Thursday that the changes will let the utility comply with government regulations to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions.

The board has approved a plan to retire three units at its north Omaha plant by 2016. The two remaining generating units would remain on coal but be retrofitted with more emission controls. They eventually would be altered to run on natural gas by 2023.

OPPD serves nearly 789,000 people in eastern and southeast Nebraska and covers all or part of 13 Nebraska counties.

CDC Probes Lab Workers’ Possible Anthrax Exposure

Posted on June 19, 2014June 19, 2014

(AP)–The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says some of its staff in Atlanta may have been accidentally exposed to dangerous anthrax bacteria because of a safety problem at one of its labs.

Agency officials say the risk of infection is low, but that about 75 staff members were being monitored or given antibiotics as a precaution.

A statement from the agency says the problem occurred when bacteria samples that were not completely inactivated were moved from a higher level biosafety lab to a lower level one not designed to handle such samples.

The problem was discovered last Friday, when live anthrax bacteria were found on some materials being gathered for disposal. The statement says some of the anthrax may have become airborne the previous week.

UNO Reports Entity Tried to Breach Campus Server

Posted on June 19, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska at Omaha says no students, faculty or staff were affected when an outside entity tried to gain unauthorized access into a campus server.

The school said in a news release Thursday that no data was accessed in the incident, which was discovered in early May during a routine security scan.

School officials say they took the unauthorized access attempts seriously because the server had personal information.

The school’s Information Security Office and national forensics experts have completed an investigation into the incident.

Tigers End Royals’ 10-Game Run with 2-1 Victory

Posted on June 19, 2014

DETROIT (AP) — Anibal Sanchez pitched seven sharp innings, and the Detroit Tigers ended Kansas City’s 10-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory over the Royals on Thursday.

J.D. Martinez hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth for the Tigers, who avoided a four-game sweep and pulled within a half-game of the AL Central-leading Royals. Sanchez (4-2) allowed five hits and a walk, keeping the Kansas City offense quiet even though he failed to strike out a batter.

Joba Chamberlain pitched the eighth, and struggling closer Joe Nathan struck out the side in the ninth for his 14th save in 18 chances.

Danny Duffy (4-6) allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out five.