Sul Ross State’s Tristen Hutchings made college rodeo history by winning his second national Bull Riding championship at the 2023 College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. Will Eddleman finished 33rd in the nation in Team Roping and sixth in the nation in Steer Roping. Hutchings scored 236 points on three rides to claim the championship. He was second in round one with a score of 67 points, second in round two with 85 points, and round three with 84 points.

He was the National Champion in 2021, when he set the arena record with a 90-point ride. Sul Ross State now has nine bull riding championships, 26 total championships and nine team national championships. Hutchings finished as the reserve National Champion in 2022.

He is the fourth SRSU bull rider to win multiple national titles after Harley May (1949, 1950), Johnny Ackel (1951, 1952) and Ira Akers (1953, 1955). No bull rider has won two championships since Odessa College’s Jim Sharp in 1986 and 1987. Hutchings and Eddleman both graduate from SRSU in May.

Hutchings is currently 12th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world standings. He won four rounds at the 2022 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and finished third. The Sul Ross State University Rodeo Team finished 13th in the nation, the third year in a row that the team has finished in the Top 20.

SRSU is the birthplace of college rodeo.