BOZEMAN — Cole Detton is one of the senior leaders on the Montana State rodeo team.
While Detton is on the quieter side outside of the arena, he lets his performances speak for themselves.
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Montana State rodeo coach Kyle Whitaker has been impressed with Detton's abilities.
"Cole Detton is for sure (among the) top-10, maybe top-five steer wrestlers at Montana State all-time," Whitaker said. "We've been really blessed since I've been here, we have Cole Detton and Jaden Whitman here. They're both right up there towards the top of the best that's ever been here, and there's been a lot of good ones here."
When did Detton know steer wrestling was something he really wanted to do?
"I'd say probably high school is when I really started dedicating time towards it," Detton said. "We had an arena at our house there in Great Falls, and every evening we spent time out there trying to build towards this goal."
While Detton came to MSU after finding success in high school, Whitaker has seen him develop substantially throughout his time in Bozeman.
"Even though he'd done good at the National High School Finals, college rodeo is still a step up," Whitaker said. "He maybe didn't have the confidence when he very first got here, and he had to physically mature and get to where he expected to win. And last year I saw that light turn on on him where he went to the rodeos expecting to win, and he would win."
One motivator for Detton is when he looks to the rafters at Worthington Arena and sees the championship banners of years past.
"There's a lot of history here in the rodeo program," Detton said. "It'd be great to be on a team where we add on to that history."
Detton will look to kick off the season with success at the Montana State Spring Rodeo and move forward with that momentum as the year continues.
