For Hub City Times

DENVER — Justin Gukenberger, a sixth-grade student at Madison Elementary School in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and son of Chad and Jennifer Gukenberger, has earned a position on the state/provincial National Junior High rodeo team and will be traveling to Lebanon, Tennessee, June 18-24 to compete at the 13th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) in the calf roping, boys goat tying, team roping, ribbon roping, and chute dogging competitions.

Featuring roughly 1,000 contestants from 43 states, five Canadian provinces, and Australia, the NJHFR is the world’s largest junior high rodeo. In addition to competing for more than $80,000 in prizes, NJHFR contestants will also vie for more than $200,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named a National Junior High Finals Rodeo World Champion. To earn this title, contestants must finish in the top 20 — based on their combined times/scores in the first two rounds — to advance to Saturday evening’s final round. Champions will then be determined based on their three-round combined scores.

The championship performance will be televised nationally as a part of the “Cinch High School Rodeo Tour” telecast series on RFD-TV. Live broadcasts of each NJHFR performance will also air online at NHSRATV.com. Performance times are 7 p.m. on June 18 and 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. each following day.