Apache alum wins national titles in college rodeo

A name readers have seen just about every summer during rodeo finals season has popped up yet again, only this time at the national level.

Gonzales alum Loni Lester, currently a junior at Sam Houston State, won the breakaway roping national title as well as the all-around championship as she and her teammates competed at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyo.

Lester took seventh in the first-go with a time of 2.7 seconds. She took eighth in the second-go at 2.7 and ninth in the third-go at 2.8. Then in the short-go round she placed second at 2.7.

Her performance not only elevated Lester as the clear women’s all-around champion, besting second-place Samantha Jorgenson by over 100 points, it also was the leading factor in the four-person women’s team’s national title as the Sam Houston State women grabbed the CNFR national championship. The team’s win is their sixth overall, but first since 1984.