Levine and Wiening Awarded Scholarships

The Montana Cowgirls Association presented their annual $1,000.00 scholarship to Payton Levine of Wolf Creek and a runner-up scholarship of $500.00 to Kate Wiening of Lewistown, MT, at the State High School Rodeo Finals held in Kalispell on Thursday, June 6th, 2024.

Payton graduated from Augusta High School in May of 2024 and is the daughter of Jason and Christi Levine of Wolf Creek, MT. Payton was the 2023 State Champion in Breakaway Roping and back-to-back State Champion in Barrel Racing. This allowed her to compete at the National High School Rodeo in Rock Springs, WY, from July 14th through the 20th, 2024, where she won the Barrel Race average. She was also the Valedictorian of her class, holding a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, and is coming into college with 24 college credits. Payton will be studying psychology and minoring in anthropology at NMSU in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She will be competing on the Rodeo Team in barrel racing, breakaway roping, and team roping.

Kate Wiening is the daughter of Chase and Amy Wiening of Lewistown, MT.

Kate graduated from James Madison High School, an online program, with a cumulative GPA of 3.6. This afforded her the ability to move around while continuing to participate in Montana High School Rodeo. Kate competed in Pole Bending, Light Rifle, Cutting, and qualified for the National High School Rodeo all four years, including Rock Springs, WY, from July 14th through the 20th, 2024, in Reined Cow Horse, where she was 4th in the average. Kate was a member of Gallatin County 4-H in the Horse and Sheep programs. She was also the National Anthem singer for MSU Athletics and the MSU Spring Rodeo from 2018 to 2022. Kate is attending New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, studying Animal Science and will also be on the NMSU Rodeo Team.