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Show , I .. - THE UNIVERSITY JOUR.NAL • SOUTHERN UT.AU UNIVERSITY -- WEDNESDAY, MAY J4, 1~J>7 By CHAD LAMB JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR Two students from SUU have qualifi ed to attend the Co ll ege National Rodeo Fina ls In Rapid C ity, South Dakota, June 4-6. Seniors Jade McAllister and Coby Drake, both of St. Geo rge, will represent the SU Rodeo C lu b in the team roping event. This is the 47th versio n of the CNFR, and will be making its firs t appearan ce in South Dako ta, where in the past it has been held in l 6 differe nt cities. All participants will compete in two to three ro unds of competition in their selected event. Those finishing w ith the top 10 scores will th en advance to the champ.io ns hip rou ntl on June 6. McAllister and Drake, who arc m embers of the U.S. Team Roping Associa tio n, will be competing in th e rodeo finals with different teammates. Drake, whose partner is Kit Sherwood fro m Ida ho Stale Uniyersity, will compete as a heeler. T he heeler is the person in cha rge of roping the back foot in the tea m roping event .. McAllister will a lso be competing as a heeler, altho ugh his pa rtn er as of now is still undetermined. Have competed in rodeo events th eir whole life, McAllister and Drake arc no w in th eir last year of eligibili ty with the college c irc uit. Drake wi ll hit the pro circuit this summe r. " It's li ke m agic wa tching t hese two rope," said Jean Reeve, an assistant professor of phys ica l educatio n and adviser to th e rodeo cl ub. "It is effortl ess to watch the m. Th ey cou ld do iL in th eir sleep." According to Reeve, the tea m roping event is a tough event to master, and Drake and McAllister have the skill that makes it look very easy. Both train their own horses, another skill that is not the easiest skill to mas ter. "The horse needs to know exactl y when to turn," Reeve said. "The h orse is as important as the roper." Both Drake and McAllister have never had the chance to show their skills here at SUU, as funding prevents the club from being able to host a rodeo here in Cedar City. The costs of a rodeo arc upwards from $ I 0,000-$1 3,000, a s um that icludcs th e cost for holding a sanctioned collegiate rodeo and approved cattle judges for the eve nt. Last year SVUSA donated $5,000 towa rds the cluh expenses, and have asked fo r $6,000 to cover expenses for next year. Although funding has been a problem for m ost cl ubs and sports at SUU, the rodeo clu b still plan s to make the }}est of it, and have even put together a " mini " rodeo set for tonight at l ro n Rangers Arena at the so uth end of the c ity. There is no competition involved. The club plans to put o n severa l dem onstrations and s how their ski ll s in different events, incl udin g barrel racing, calf and team rop ing, and women's steer riding. T he club a lso plans to invite th e audience to parti cipa te in the experien ce of rodeo, with m odiLi.cd events where the audience ca n take a crack at calf rop ing and other even ts to experien ce what the rodeo c lub competes in at their region rodeos. Anyo ne is invited to attend, with the events beginning to ni ght at 7 p.m. 'It's like magic watching_ those two rop_e,' said roaeo club adviser fean Reeve. - 'BIRD SPORTS · ll33 I --· Rodeo club to send two to finals - ' Arizona prep star signs with tnen's hoopsters Jeff Monaco, Arizona's Gatorade Player of th e Yea r in 1997, has s igned a National Letter of Intent to play basketba ll at SU. T he 6-0 poin t guard averaged 23 points, 8.1 assists and 3.9 stea ls per game at Cha parral High School in Scottsdale. Mo naco s tarted all four yea rs at CHS and earn ed three 4A all-state ho no rs a lo ng the way. He leaves CHS with a school-record 2,024 points and 836 career assists. In addition to leading his prep team to an 8619 record in fo ur years, he won MVP honors at the Best of the West and Surf and Slam T o urnaments in 1995 and 1996. He competed with the BCI All-American Team in 1996 and was th e sta rting point guard for t he Ari zona All-Stars. "Obviously we' re thrilled to have Jeff come into our program," said SU Head Coac h Bill Eva ns. "People arc going to sec a player that has a grea t feel for the ga m e and a great ability to do the intangible things that he lp you win. With he and Wes Bunn (Cypress, Ca li f., HS) comin g in, we have a pair of very young guards with bright futures." In his just completed senior season, Monaco shot 55 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 82 percent from the fo ul line. Mo naco's career high was a 47 point outp ut an d also recorded a triple-do uble effort in a game of 24 point, l O assists and l l steals. 633 South Main Cedar City UT 84 7 2 0 (801) 586-1203 FOOD Co me & D RUG STO RES Fax (801) 586-0428 shop for i t a 11 under one roof! **Featuring** Pharmacy Video Customer Service Grocery Non Foods Floral Shop Deli Seafood/Meat Bakery Produce Club Pack Size PostNet I s ~,111' ~,-:oJ ,,110"•"~ THE CON VENIENCE OF A CALLING CARD WITHOUT THE RISK! 30 MINUTES -$10 60 MINUTES -$20 180 MINUTES -$50 |