DOUGLAS - Four years, two knee surgeries, a pair of horses and a new style later, Jordan Thurston accomplished her goal.

As a freshman, the Lance Creek cowgirl set out to become the first four-time female champion at the Wyoming State High School Rodeo Finals.

Thurston finished her goal off in impressive fashion this weekend, winning all three go-rounds at the state fairgrounds on her way to her fourth state goat tying championship and a spot in the National High School Finals Rodeo.

"I didn't have anything to lose, so I just went for it," Thurston said after winning the final round on Saturday with a 6.81-second run. "My goal was to be a four-time Wyoming high school goat tying champion and I did that. And I had never won all three rounds and so I did that.

"Four-time is huge. No girl has ever done it and the only guy to do it was Bobby Welsh in the bull riding, so to be the first is cool."

Thurston didn't start tying goats on a regular basis until she was in seventh grade.

By the end of her freshman year - once she worked regularly with her pen of 65 practice goats - she knew she was capable of doing something special.

"My little horse that I had was Horse of the Year and he was outstanding," Thurston said. "He set me up and taught me that I could be good. He gave me a real big chance."

Thurston - who twice qualified for the Wyoming State High School Wrestling Championships with Lusk - changed horses going into her sophomore year, hopping on a Mexican pony named Sancho and winning another state championship.

It looked like her run might be in jeopardy for her junior year because she suffered her first knee injury just after the conclusion of the NHSFR.

Thurston rodeoed throughout the fall, but had to undergo her first surgery during the winter of that year.

She couldn't wrestle, but returned to the rodeo arena that spring for another state-title run.

"I definitely have to be careful," Thurston said. "I tied with a knee brace for a while, but absolutely hated it. So I just did a lot of running and stayed in shape."

She went to another NHSFR and incurred another knee injury shortly after, electing for the same schedule she used her junior year - rodeo in the fall and surgery in the winter.

On Saturday, though she looked a little different doing it, Thurston captured a fourth state title.

"I just started tying off of [Sancho] a little different," she said. "I just hang a long time now and he's just so honest."

Thurston said she knows of only one other cowgirl in the country who hangs as long and low as she does.

"It's just way less impact," Thurston said. "I used to hang a little bit, but now I just flat hang the whole time.

"It works for me."

Not everything has worked as planned, but it's worked out.

And now Wyoming has a female four-time state champion.

Contact sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at (307) 266-0578 or eric.schmoldt@trib.com.

RODEO TRACKER

SATURDAY: The Wyoming State High School Rodeo Finals concluded at the state fairgrounds in Douglas.

FAB FOUR: Lance Creek goat tyer Jordan Thurston won the final round with a 6.81-second run, capping off her fourth state championship.

SHE SAID IT: "Four-time is huge. No girl has ever done it and the only guy to do it was Bobby Welsh in the bull riding, so to be the first is cool." - Thurston.

UP NEXT: Thurston and the top four finishers in each event will compete at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Farmington, N.M., from July 19 to 26.

WYOMING'S NHSFR QUALIFIERS

The top four finishers in each event qualify for the NHSFR in Farmington, N.M.

GIRLS CUTTING: Trey Barlow, Gillette; Kara Hatten, Wheatland; Cinnamon Smith, Gillette; Taylor Rienets, Gillette.

BOYS CUTTING: A.J. Fuchs, Teton Village; Logan Bell, Gillette; Matt Schieck, Riverton.

GOAT TYING: Jordan Thurston, Lance Creek; Nikki Baumann, Sheridan; Devin Nicholls, Kinnear; Jori Lorenzi, Laramie.

SADDLE BRONC RIDING: Whit Peterson, Torrington; Taylor Kelly, Sheridan; Tim Rodewald, Rawlins; Ty Hiatt, Wheatland.

BREAKAWAY ROPING: Devin Nicholls, Kinnear; Megan Belus, Buffalo; Nikki Baumann, Sheridan; Tayler Holmes, Jackson.

STEER WRESTLING: Riley Krassin, Lander; Luke Camino, Clearmont; Ethan Hepp, Kaycee; Ace Thurston, Lance Creek.

BARREL RACING: Raegen Scott, Douglas; Chandler Markel, Scottsbluff, Neb.; Shyann Lucas, Jackson; Marlys McGuire, Wheatland.

CALF ROPING: Timothy Malm, Albin; Dalton Hall, Moorcroft; Jake Gill, Wyola, Mont.; Blaine Phillips, Casper.

BAREBACK BRONC RIDING: J.R. Vezain, Cowley; Ace Thurston, Lance Creek; Chance Madsen, Pine Bluffs; Kacy Townsley, Riverton.

TEAM ROPING: A.J. Fuchs, Teton Village/Matt Schieck, Riverton; Kade Merritt, Greeley, Colo./Jake Mangis, Jackson; Frank Enos, Fort Washakie/Nolan Eckhardt, Lander; K.L. Spratt, Lysite/Trevor Scantling, Buffalo.

POLE BENDING: Megan Belus, Buffalo; Devin Nicholls, Kinnear; Shyann Lucas, Jackson; Kelsie McInerney, Alzada, Mont.

BULL RIDING: Garrett Lowham, Cody; J.R. Vezain, Cowley; Cory Albright, Pavillion; Milton Robinson, Mountain View.