PRCC rodeo team kicks off season in Ozark Region

POPLARVILLE — Dust off your cowboy hat because the rodeo is coming to town.

Pearl River Community College’s rodeo team will be starting its season on Thursday through Saturday when they host the Ozark Region Rodeo.

The rodeo will be the first National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association event held in the Ozark Region and will be held at the James Lynn Cartlidge Multi-Purpose Center in Hattiesburg.

Third-year head coach Robby Shaw is excited to finally get the season underway and hopes to build off the team’s success from last year.

“The rodeo we hosted last year went real well,” Shaw said. “We’re expecting anywhere from 150 to 250 contestants from all over the Ozark region.”

Last year, PRCC had two students qualify for the college national finals.

Although sophomore standout Chase Graves — who was one of the Wildcats to compete in the finals a year ago — recently suffered an injury, the Poplarville native is still expected to provide leadership to the rest of the team.

“It’s real helpful to have kids that have been there before because I know that we’ve got kids that are consistent and can show up all year long,” Shaw said.

Rayne Royals (Purivs) is a name to know. Shaw called the freshman a “natural” when it comes to rodeo.

Rounding out the team is Emily Favre (Kiln), Nick Gonzales (Carriere), Tyler Holder (Lucedale), Zeak Shorter (Florence), Tyler Stewart (Brandon), Charlie Hillman (Florence), Anna Graham (Sandy Hook), Kaleigh Graham (Petal), JT Brown (Mendenhall), Adam Channell (Seminary), Caly Hayworth (Ponder, Texas) and Carli Hodges (Summerdale, Alabama).

The Pearl River rodeo team kicks off its 2018-19 season on Thursday with its lone home event of the year. The Ozark Region Rodeo will run Thursday through Saturday at the James Lynn Cartlidge Multi-Purpose Center in Hattiesburg. (KRISTI HARRIS/PRCC ATHLETICS)

ABOUT THE RODEO

The rodeo will begin at 7 p.m. each night. Admission is $10 for ages 10 and up, while ages 5-10 are $5.

The event will feature nine different competitions that include bareback riding, calf roping, break away roping, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle broke riding, barrel racing, goat tying and bull riding.

Rudy Burns will be the rodeo clown for the event.

Also in attendance will be children from the Homes of Hope Foundation that will be recognized at the event.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics). You can also follow the rodeo team’s Facebook page.