FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University rodeo team member Paden Bray has been named Resistol Rookie of the Year as a team roping heeler by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
“It’s a good achievement,” Bray said in an interview with The Team Roping Journal. “There are a lot of rookies who have the same goals, to win the Rookie of the Year. To go out on top is a pretty good accomplishment.”
He finished his inaugural professional season in 17th position in his event, just shy of qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo. Helping in his run for Rookie of the Year, Bray heeled for 2017 world champion header Erich Rogers. The duo plan on continuing their partnership for the 2020 PRCA campaign.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” Bray said. “I’m happy to say we’re roping together again next year.”
Bray, a business major from Granbury, is in second place in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region standings at the halfway point of the 2019-20 college season. He previously qualified for the 2019 College National Finals, just two years after earning a spot in the High School National Finals.
“I had a lot of fun,” he said, “and it was a great first year.”
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.
Contact: Phil Riddle
817-484-4415
priddle@tarleton.edu
