Mid-Plains Community College Rodeo Team rough stock coach Dustin Elliott presented rodeo team member Samantha VonHeeder, of Ainsworth, with a $1,000 dual excellence scholarship. 

VonHeeder was recognized Saturday night during the fifth annual MPCC Rodeo Team Banquet at the D and N Event Center in North Platte. 

The Wranglers, the team’s official booster committee, present the scholarship every year to a rodeo team member who excels in both the arena and the classroom. 

VonHeeder is currently ranked third in the Great Plains Region barrel racing standings. She also made the Dean’s List for the fall 2017 semester by maintaining an overall grade point average of 3.5 – 3.89 on a 4.0 scale. 

She is the first woman to receive the dual excellence scholarship and is also the team’s first timed event competitor to receive the scholarship.