By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
May 24, 2004
It took a tornado to get Cassie Stockstill interested in rodeo, but she's been a whirlwind ever since.
Case in point at the Mississippi/Alabama Challenge high school rodeo this weekend at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center, Stockstill took first place in both the pole bending and barrel racing competitions.
Placing high is nothing new for the Mendenhall resident.
Stockstill had 1,300 points. This was her farewell tour on the high school rodeo circuit, and she plans to go out with a bang.
Stockstill, who formerly attended Simpson Academy, is currently home schooled.
She wasn't always 100 percent devoted to the rodeo life.
Stockstill is a heavy favorite to qualify for the nationals which will be held in Gillette, Wyo., this summer.
She plans to attend Jones Junior College in Ellisville next year. Rodeo will have to be put on hold for a while.
Not only did Stockstill help Mississippi outscore Alabama 412-204 to win the challenge rodeo, but the Magnolia State also swept both individual top honors as Candy Parkinson of Kosciusko was named All-Around Cowgirl and Lucas Guilbeau of Golden Meadow, La., was named All-Around Cowboy. Louisiana cowboys and cowgirls are allowed to compete on the Mississippi team.
Parkinson finished second in girls cutting, second in breakaway roping, and second in goat tying.
Guilbeau was third in boys cutting, fourth in saddle bronc riding, and second in bull riding.
Highlights in Sunday afternoon's final day of competition included a pair of first-place finishes from Stockstill as she won the pole bending with a time of 19.881 seconds and the barrel racing with a time of 15.313 seconds.
Also in the pole bending Sunday, Kimberly Jarreau of St. Francisville, La., had a time of 20.565 to finish second overall. Mississippi's Kristina Crawford's 20.934 missed making the top four by .033 of a second.
In barrel racing, Crawford's 15.650 seconds Sunday missed fourth place by .039 of a second. Erika Johnson of Lena had a time of 15.713 and Rebecca Wilbanks of Carthage came in at 15.758 seconds.
Jarreau's 3.513 second effort in breakaway roping was good enough to win that competition. Mississippi Rodeo Queen Ashley Adams had a time of 5.382 seconds Sunday.
In calf roping, Cody Murphy of Alabama had the day's best time of 12.754 seconds.
Ace Campbell of Alabama had a day's best time of 5.328 seconds in steer wrestling to finish second overall. The competition was delayed for nearly 30 minutes when Mississippi's Josh Acey took a nasty spill and was taken to a local hospital where his injuries reportedly included a concussion.
Blake Fontenot and Taylor Fontenot's 8.049 time in the team roping was good enough to move them into first place in that event. They are from St. Francisville, La. The second-best showing of the final round was a 12.588 from Ace Campbell and Lucas Rowell of Alabama.
In goat tying, Erika Johnson's 11.038 time was good for third place overall, while Prentiss' Julianna Cox was fourth overall with a time of 12.251 seconds.
James Whitehead of Flora was the only cowboy to get the required eight-second ride on the bull. His 70 points left him third in the final overall standings.