Cade Cogbill, 8th grader from Mauriceville Middle School qualified for the National Jr. High Rodeo Finals during the Texas Jr. High Rodeo State Finals this past week in Gonzales, Texas. Cade placed 4th out of 77 boys from Texas in the Chute dogging event to qualify him for Nationals, and also finished 5th in the boy’s goat tying of 77 boys. Each state is only allowed to bring the top four contestants to Nationals. Since Texas has so many contestants this is a huge accomplishment compared to other states. Louisinia, for example, has less than 20 boys and still brings the top four. The contestants compete throughout the week on two go-rounds, then the top 15 are brought back for one more competition to compete for the four spots for National Team. Chute dogging is an event where the boys wrestle a steer to the ground; it is a precursor to the event steer wrestling, which is done from horseback. Nationals will be in Lebanon, Tennessee.