Laney Hoier did it again Saturday night.
For the second-straight year, the Herman cowgirl earned sixth overall in the goat-tying during the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in Rock Springs, Wyo. She made three runs during the week-long rodeo, topping 163 other competitors from across the country, Canada, Mexico and Australia.
In 2024, Hoier was sixth out of 189 cowgirls with three runs in 23.18. Her best took just 7.28 seconds.
A year later, the Tekamah-Herman graduate — and future South Dakota State rodeo athlete — finished three attempts in just 22.21 seconds. She dismounted her horse and tied a knot in 7.17 during her fastest run.
Hoier logged times of 7.38 and 7.66 seconds in her first and last attempts of the NHSFR, too. She earned fifth, fifth and ninth across the three performances for her overall sixth-place result.
The only cowgirls to top Herman's finest in the goat-tying average were Hadley Thompson of Yoder (Wyo.), Hemingford's Sophie Hruby, Augusta Warren of Ottumwa (Iowa), Crawford's Tatum Reid and Josie Robbins of Dillon, Mont. Thompson won the average with 20.02 seconds to her name, stopping the clock in 6.31 seconds during the short go-round finals.
Hoier was just one of three Washington County cowgirls in Rock Springs for the NHSFR. Alexa Cruikshank and Hailey O'Daniel also competed for belt buckles during the annual event.
Cruikshank earns top-30 finishes
Cruikshank finished just shy of joining Hoier in Saturday night's short go-round competition. The Arlington High School student, a multiple-time National Junior High Finals Rodeo qualifier, made her high school nationals debut and secured a pair of top-30 aggregate finishes.
Cruikshank was 22nd overall in the goat-tying, making two runs in 16.41 seconds — just 0.13 out of a top-20 finals qualification. She earned a seventh-place performance finish with her first run, clocking in at 7.78 seconds.
In the barrel racing, Cruikshank was 26th out of 192 competitors from across the country. She made two runs in 35.749 seconds. Her best was her second, taking just 17.651.
The four-event qualifier also competed in the breakaway roping and pole bending events in Rock Springs. She was 61st out of 123 cowgirls in the breakaway event, completing one run in 3.52 seconds.
Cruikshank, meanwhile, took 164th in pole bending. Her quickest nationals run took 25.872 seconds.
O'Daniel makes final NHSFR runs
O'Daniel made her final NHSFR runs during the 2025 rodeo. The Arlington graduate and two-event Iowa state champion was 41st in barrel racing and 86th in the pole bending, respectively.
Competing against 191 others, O'Daniel finished her two barrel runs in 17.955 and 18.235 seconds, respectively. The future University of Nebraska-Lincoln cowgirl was 11th during one rodeo performance before taking 15th in her second.
In pole bending, O'Daniel topped 94 other cowgirls with her combined times. The cowgirl made her first run in 21.724 seconds for 10th in the performance before a 30.777 effort for 25th in her second.
O'Daniel, a multiple-sport athlete during high school, closes her prep rodeo career as a multiple-time nationals qualifier and a multiple-time state champ. Next, like Hoier, she'll chase College National Finals Rodeo qualifications.
