Custer County Chief

Kunkee third person in family to rodeo at MPCC

- BY ALEX ELLER Sports/Editorial Writer

CALLAWAY - Growing up, Dalton Kunkee of Callaway High School got a first-hand glimpse of what college rodeo looked like, as he saw his two older brothers Wyatt and Weston compete at MidPlains Community College on the rodeo team. Now it’s his turn, as he followed in his brother’s footsteps and will be rodeoing for MPCC next spring.

“Both of my brothers have been on the MPCC rodeo team,” Kunkee said. “Also, before he passed away Garrett Nokes shared a lot of informatio­n with me on the program. From what I gathered I knew this school and program would fit me like a glove.”

While at Mid-Plains, Kunkee looks to compete in two different events. They are steer wrestling and team roping.

One of the things he is looking forward to is the opportunit­y to improve in his rodeo events. With the success MPCC has had over the years, he doesn’t believe that will be an issue.

“It feels great to be able to extend my rodeo career, especially at a school that has a well-establishe­d rodeo team like MPCC,” Kunkee said. “I will be able to practice almost every day and I will have people there to help me, that way I can exceed in my rodeo events.”

One of the reasons Dalton believes he has gotten to where he is at with rodeo is because of the Nebraska High School Rodeo. It has allowed him to meet a lot of great people and find out more informatio­n on what college rodeoing is all about.

“Being able to high school rodeo in Nebraska, I have met many people and they have been able to share informatio­n about high school rodeo with me,” Kunkee said. “That support really motivated me to get to the next level and take it from there.”

Kunkee is attending MPCC on an academic/ rodeo scholarshi­p. He will be majoring in the Associate of Science Degree Transfer Program with plans to attend UNL and major in Animal Science.

 ?? Angie Kunkee ?? Pictured above left to right is Dalton Kunkee with Laura Nokes and her two sons Parker and Trevor. They are the family of Garrett Nokes who was the former coach of the Mid-Plains Community College Rodeo Team. He passed away in Febuary due to a horse accident.
Angie Kunkee Pictured above left to right is Dalton Kunkee with Laura Nokes and her two sons Parker and Trevor. They are the family of Garrett Nokes who was the former coach of the Mid-Plains Community College Rodeo Team. He passed away in Febuary due to a horse accident.

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