Four Washington County rodeo athletes are set for national competition this summer.
Trevor Cruikshank, Hailey O'Daniel, Alexa Cruikshank and Laney Hoier earned their National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) and National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) spots with top finishes throughout the Iowa and Nebraska seasons, which have fall and spring dates across their respective states.
Trevor Cruikshank, an honor roll student at St. Paul's Lutheran School this past spring, is set to compete Monday during the second day of the NJHFR in Des Moines, Iowa. The cowboy qualified in the boys' goat-tying, will represent the Iowa circuit and will make a second run June 27.
Last summer, Cruikshank finished 74th in the national event's goat-tying average, stopping the clock at 14 seconds on his best attempt.
O'Daniel, meanwhile, is the 2025 Iowa high school state champion in both the barrel racing and the pole bending, qualifying for the NHSFR on July 13-19. The rodeo is set for the Sweetwater Events Complex in Rock Springs, Wyo.
The recent Arlington High School graduate finished 59 points ahead of the second-best barrel racer in Iowa and edged Lindsey Wackel of Crete, 184.5-175, in the pole bending.
O'Daniel, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln rodeo recruit, was first in the barrel racing at the Iowa state finals, taking 44.56 seconds to complete her three runs. Her best time was 14.78.
At the 2024 NHSFR, last fall's NSAA Class C state cross-country champion was 50th in the barrel racing and 111th in the pole bending, respectively. One 17.627-second barrel race earned her a second-place performance finish in Rock Springs.
Another member of Team Iowa with Arlington ties — Alexa Cruikshank — earned her spot at high school nationals, too. The cowgirl was third overall in the barrel racing, goat-tying and pole bending, and finished fourth in Iowa's breakaway roping standings. She finished third in the all-around standings, too.
Last summer, Cruikshank competed at the NJHFR and took 15th in the pole bending average. She notably earned second during one performance, clocking in with a time of just 20.79 seconds.
The cowgirl had qualified for the 2024 event in the breakaway roping, goat-tying, barrel racing and ribbon roping events, too.
While the Cruikshanks and O'Daniel took on the Iowa schedule this past season, though, Hoier competed in Nebraska. The Herman cowgirl is a multiple-time NHSFR qualifier and earned sixth out of 189 competitors in last year's goat-tying average. She made three national runs in 23.18 seconds, including a 7.28 effort.
Hoier, a recent Tekamah-Herman graduate, returns to Rock Springs this July after earning third in the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association's goat-tying standings. She was fifth during last Saturday's state finals, winding up with a 27.32-second time across three runs in Valentine. Her best took just 7.37 seconds.
Hoier's younger sister, Charley, finished eighth in Nebraska's goat-tying standings this year, too.
