STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame inducted six new members — Brody Cress, Kody Lamb, Landon Williams, Jace Melvin, Jace Lane and Devan Reilly — at the organization’s annual steak dinner and auction Friday, Nov. 3, at the Doty Rodeo Complex.
The inductees were all members of Tarleton State’s 2015 National Collegiate Championship team.
Proceeds benefit the rodeo scholarship fund.
About this year’s inductees:
Brody Cress
Born and raised in Hillsdale, Wyo., Brody was exposed to the rich western heritage and rodeo culture from an early age. He made his mark as an arena saddle bronc rider in high school, claiming two state titles.
His passion for competition extended beyond rodeo. While attending Cheyenne East High School, he showcased his tenacity and skill as a wrestler and earned three state wrestling titles.
At Tarleton State he pursued a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness and a master’s in agriculture and consumer science.
He was a member of the 2015 National Collegiate Championship team and the 2018 reserve national champion team. He was a three-time College National Finals Rodeo qualifier and National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region champion saddle bronc rider in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Brody’s professional career took off in 2017 when he made history as the only cowboy to win the prestigious Salinas, Calif., rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days and Pendleton Roundup in the same year, catapulting him into the national spotlight and a Top 15 world ranking.
He has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo six times and won the average in 2017, 2019 and 2021, cementing his position among the elite saddle bronc riders in the world.
Kody Lamb
The Sherwood Park, Alb., cowboy spends most of his time competing in rodeos in the U.S. and Canada. A former PRCA Rookie of the Year, he also was a five-time CNFR qualifier and three-time Canadian Finals Rodeo qualifier.
He holds a bachelor of science in psychology and a master’s in applied psychology, both from Tarleton.
Kody also enjoys playing the guitar, singing and songwriting. He released his first album, Faster Feet and Brighter Lights, on Spotify and Apple Music in September 2017.
Landon Williams
A West Texas native (Midland), Landon began roping at age 12 in the American Junior Rodeo Association and High Plains Junior Rodeos. Recruited from Region 1 Texas high school rodeos, he competed first for Weatherford College, earning two CNFR team roping nods, then Tarleton State. In 2014 he won the Southwest Region team roping title as a heeler and the tie-down roping crown en route to a third straight appearance at the College National Finals.
He helped Tarleton State win the men’s national championship in 2015 when he earned finals berths in both events, winning individual national titles as a tie-down roper and in the all-around.
In the professional ranks, he has made several circuit finals appearances in team roping and calf roping, including qualifying for the 2022 NFR Open.
Landon and his wife, Cadee, met while team roping together at Weatherford College. They married in 2016 and have three children — Honor, 5; Wyatt, 2; and Win, 2 months.
When not rodeoing between Texas and Cadee’s home state of Montana, they operate Premier Welding in Weatherford.
Jace Melvin
A Pierre, S.D., native, Jace benefitted from being in a family of ropers and riders. Sister Jessica was Miss Rodeo South Dakota and the Texas Tech Masked Rider, and sister Jenny was the national champion Little Britches breakaway roper and a professional roper in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.
Jace followed them to rodeos and began competing himself in Little Britches events, eventually graduating to junior high and high school rodeos. His college career started at Vernon College before he transferred to Tarleton State.
Wearing the purple vest, he qualified for CNFR as a steer wrestler in both his junior and senior years, and as a tie-down roper as a senior when he helped Tarleton win the national men’s team title.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in agribusiness, he qualified for the 2020 National Finals Rodeo and finished in the top 10.
He owns and operates Melvin Timed Events, a stock contracting business for youth, junior high, amateur and pro rodeo. He also continues to rodeo across the country.
Jace Lane
Jace grew up in the Texas Panhandle, where he played basketball and ran track for the Gruver Greyhounds. After earning salutatorian honors at GHS, he came to Tarleton on academic and rodeo scholarships; he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in animal science and a minor in business marketing.
HIs success in college rodeo came quickly as he won both the Southwest Region saddle bronc and all-around titles as a freshman, which punched his first ticket to CNFR.
With a reserve championship in saddle bronc riding and a third-place finish in steer wrestling, he was a major force on the 2015 National Collegiate Championship men’s team. He made two more appearances at CNFR representing Tarleton in saddle bronc riding in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018 he married Kyra and stepped away from professional rodeo to focus on his business and starting a family. Jace, Kyra and 3-year-old Lynix live in Leedey, Okla., where he’s an emissions specialist for an oil and gas company. They raise toy Australian shepherds and miniature long-haired dachshunds.
After a six-year hiatus, Jace and his family hit the rodeo road last summer. He earned a third-place year-end finish in saddle bronc riding and the rookie roughstock championship in the Kansas Professional Rodeo Association.
He aspires to attain his first PRCA card and compete in saddle bronc riding on the prairie circuit in the 2023-24 regular season.
Devan Reilly
Devan grew up in Sheridan, Wyo., at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains and actually began his athletic career wrestling and as linebacker on a state championship football team.
After high school he signed to rodeo for Casper College. His second season there he finished eighth in the region in saddle bronc riding. After his eligibility at Casper expired he transferred to Gillette College, where he qualified for CNFR twice and wound up with two Top 10 finishes.
His final year of collegiate competition, spent at Tarleton, he made his third straight CNFR after a third-place finish in the Southwest Region standings. He was on the 2015 team that won the national crown and contributed an 11th-place finish in saddle bronc riding.
After college he competed as a professional cowboy for five years, setting the Tucson arena record in 2018 with a 93-point ride on Killer Bee from the Beutler & Son Rodeo Co. An injury forced his retirement.
Now a UPS driver in Gillette, Wyo., Devan’s main focus is hunting and seeing the world.
Be the first to comment