Montana Cowgirls Association Annual Scholarship

Payton and Kate receiving Scholarship Photo credit Montana Cowgirls Association 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 July 14th through the 20th, 2024 where she won the Barrel Race average, but she was also the Valedictorian of her class and she held a 4.0 throughout high school and is coming into college with 24 credits. Payton will be studying psychology and minoring in anthropology at NMSU in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She will compete 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, and Cutting, and qualified for the National High School Rodeo all four years, including Rock Springs, Wy 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. Kate was the National Anthem singer for MSU Athletics, 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.