2015 ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Each year the NIRA Alumni and the Weary Foundation present scholarships to the Fourth Place Men’s and Women’s Teams and to the Man and Woman Rookie of the Year. This year the Fourth Place Men’s Team was from the College of Southern Idaho, coached by Steve Birnie. Central Arizona College and coach Joe Moody received the Women’s Team scholarship. Rusty Wright, College of Southern Idaho, took home the Man Rookie award while Danyelle Williams from Blue Mountain Community College, Oregon, was the Woman Rookie.

In 2015, thanks to the hard work and generosity of the its membership, the NIRA Alumni with the Weary Foundation and the friends and family of Stan Harter, were able to give out a record amount of scholarship money.

For the first time the Alumni presented scholarships to the first time qualifiers to the CNFR with the highest number of points in each event. Those student athletes are:

  • Bareback Riding: Jesse Nelson, Northwest College, Wyoming
  • Tie-Roping: Joshua Walker, Western Texas College
  • Breakaway Roping: Breanna Ellis, Missouri Valley College
  • Saddle Bronc Riding: Rusty Wright, College of Southern Idaho
  • Steer Wrestling: Jace Lane, Tarleton State, Texas and Jesse Brown, Montana State
  • Goat Tying: Lauren Bane, Northwest Oklahoma State
  • Team Roping-Header: Pedro Egurrola, Central Arizona College
  • Team Roping-Heeler: Dalton Pearce, Cuesta College, California
  • Barrel Racing: Danyelle Williams, Blue Mountain Community College, Oregon
  • Bull Riding: Tyler Stueve, Colorado Northwest Community College

This was also the first year for the Stan Harter Memorial Scholarship which was presented to Ava Rankin, Miles City Community College, Montana.