FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              September 11, 2003

TWO RANGER RODEO TEAM MEMBERS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS

            Preston Billadeau of Parshall, N.D., and Tyson Brenton of Rosalia, Kan., members of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo team, have been named Academic All-Americans by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA).

            The honor is reserved for NIRA members who have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average and who qualified for the 2003 College National Finals Rodeo.

            Billadeau, now a junior majoring in agri-business, qualified for the finals rodeo in calf roping, finishing seventh in the average.

            Brenton, a senior also majoring in agri-business, placed third in the average in steer wrestling.

            “I’m very proud of the way these two young men represented Northwestern,” said rodeo coach Tim Kolb. “They are not the exception as far as grades go, but are becoming the norm. Rodeo athletes are not here to merely achieve their rodeo goals, but to obtain degrees that will help them to succeed in life.”

-NW-

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