The College National Finals Rodeo kicked off Monday in Casper, Wyo. with timed events.

For Montana, Montana State's Kyle Tidwell tied for second in tie-down roping with Isaiah Pemberton of Dickinson State. Montana Western's Wyatt Smith clocked a 4.1 in steer wrestling, good for third place.

In the barrel racing competition, South Dakota State's Rachel Tiedeman raced to the first go-round win with a run of 14.27 seconds, just edging Walla Walla's Jordan Crossley, who clocked a 14.35.

Black Hills State's P.J. Painter, the reserve all-around champion of the Great Plains Region, won the first go-round in tie-down roping with a time of 10.4 seconds. Defending champion Johnny Salvo of New Mexico State was 16th with a 14.9. His teammate and defending all-around champion, Wyatt Althoff, tied his calf in 15.8 seconds for a 19th-place finish.

Jake Shaw of Missouri Valley College won the first-go in steer wrestling, clocking 3.9 seconds, the only run under 4 seconds.

Northwestern Oklahoma State's Kody Woodward clocked a 4.0 to take second. Walla Walla's Nick Gutzwiler, the national leader, took himself out of the average with a no-score.

In goat tying, Wyoming's Nikki Steffes was first out of the box, as the Cowgirl senior set the standard for the first go-round with a 6.3-second run. UNLV's Kassi Venturacci, the final competitor of the round, was second with a 6.4.

Ryan Routier of Dickinson State and Taylor Williams of Black Hills State set the pace early in team roping and brothers Jesy and Rudy Austin matched them as the two teams tied for the first-go win with runs of 6.2 seconds.

Defending champion Kory Bramwell of Ranger College and new teammate Cody Burney of West Texas were 21st with a 21.8.

Megan Wilkerson of New Mexico State posted her second consecutive 2.8-second run to take the early lead in the average with a two-run total of 5.6 seconds in the breakaway roping event.

Wilkerson had the third-fastest time of the day after finishing second in the first go-round.