ALVA, Okla. – In the Nebraska Sandhills, Sam Daly is one of about 400 people who live in McPherson County.

It's sparse, inhabited mostly with prairie grasses and livestock. It's cattle country in the Cornhusker State, and it's home for Northwestern Oklahoma State University steer wrestler Sam Daly. It's where he learned what it takes to be a cowboy, and he's putting it to use for the Rangers.

Daly shared the first-round victory, then posted a 3.8-second for the fastest of the rodeo to win the championship round and the aggregate title this past weekend at the Garden City (Kansas) Community College rodeo. It was his first intercollegiate victory.

"It's cool, because it's something I ain't done before," said Daly, a junior transfer from Tryon, Nebraska. "It was fun going out there and being able to be fast on two (steers) and win it.

"I drew two good steers and blew the barrier out twice."
Getting a good start is imperative in the timed events, where contestants begin behind a barrier rope that allows the cattle to get the appropriate head start. With teammate Hazen Sparks of Talihina, Oklahoma, serving as the hazer, Daly capitalized on horsemanship and teamwork to grab the title and wrap enough points to move into fifth place in the Central Plains Region.

The goal for all contestants is to finish among the top three in the standings at the close of the regular season in order to qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo, which takes place in June at Casper, Wyoming. Northwestern holds down four of the top five positions in the points race.
"Alva's not very far of a move from where I was," said Daly, who transferred from Pratt (Kansas) Community College. "I knew Emmett (Edler) was going to be the assistant coach, and we knew each other from high school. I just thought it would be a good place to go where I'd be able to bulldog a bunch and hopefully get better."

It seems to be working, but so is his horse, Rogue, an 11-year-old gelding. The sorrel was just one of the keys to Daly's success in western Kansas.
"There are a lot of good guys in our region," he said. "There were a lot of good steers this weekend, and it just came down to scoring and horsepower."
Daly was one of nine Rangers in Sunday's short round. Three other steer wrestlers were in that crew, including Tydon Tsosie of Crownpoint, New Mexico, who placed in both rounds and finished third. Sparks placed third in the opening round before being saddled with a no-time, and Riley Smith of Poteau, Oklahoma, was 6.5 seconds in the long round to advance among the top 12 in the championship field.

Heeler Colter Snook of Ford, Kansas – the No. 3 man in the regionals standings – secured the team roping victory while competing with Dexton Hoelting of Western Oklahoma State College. The tandem placed fourth in the first round, then tied for the short-round win to take the top spot in the two-run average. Tie-down roper Carter Anderson of Merriman, Nebraska, placed sixth in the first round.

The Rangers women were led by goat-tier Payton Dingman, who stopped the clock in 6.6 seconds to share the first-round victory. She was 6.3 in the finale and placed second overall. With the 155 points she gained, the Pryor, Oklahoma, sophomore moved into the Central Plains lead. Breakaway ropers  Saddie Hammond of Avondale, Colorado, and Savannah Greenfield of Lakeview, Oregon, were 2.9 seconds each and finished in a six-way tie for fifth place in the opening round.
The Northwestern men and women have just three events remaining in the season to accrue the points necessary to compete at the college finals. For Daly, that means taking a clichéd approach to competition, focusing on each run as it comes.

"I'm just going to let whatever happens happen," he said. "All the steers are going to be really good at these next couple of rodeos. It's just going to come down to going out there, getting your hands on the steer and making the run happen."
It's a process that worked in Garden City, so he may as well let it roll.