JEFF FIELDER Editor
MITCHELL – Lane Chasek, who graduated from Mitchell High School on May 11, is this week’s First State Bank Male Student of the Week. Chasek was in National Honor Society, and he also played football. He’s currently competing in the spring high school rodeo season. Chasek, who has competed in the last three high school state rodeos, hopes to place in the top four at this year’s high school state rodeo competition, which is June 10-15 in Hastings. Chasek plans to compete in rodeo at Chadron State College. His parents are Shawn and Jennifer Chasek. He has three brothers: Ty, 19; Jake, 17; and Justin, 17.
Q: How did your senior year go at Mitchell High School?
CHASEK: “It went well. It went by quick.”
Q: How are things going in rodeo?
CHASEK: “It’s going good. I’ve been winning a few rodeos here and there, and we’re leading the state now in team roping.”
Q: Who is your partner in team roping?
CHASEK: “Colton Storer. He goes to Arthur.”
Q: How did you end up teaming up with him?
CHASEK: “I met him in junior high at one of our rodeos. I asked him if he would like to rope together in high school, and he said yes.”
Q: Since he lives so far away from you, how do the two of you find time to practice together?
CHASEK: “In past years, I would either drive there and rope with him, and sometimes he would drive here and practice with me before the season started. But this year, both of us have been really busy, so we kind of just practice on our own at home, and then we show up at the rodeos and rope together.”
Q: How have you two been doing this year?
CHASEK: “We’ve been doing really good. We’re first in the state in team roping.”
Q: Does that surprise you at all?
CHASEK: “I didn’t expect to start winning, but with the way we’ve been roping lately, I think we’ll continue to do pretty good.”
Q: How many more competitions do you have before state?
CHASEK: “We have three more weekends of two rodeos and one more that’s a three-day rodeo.”
Q: How many years have you competed in the state rodeo competition?
CHASEK: “I’ve made it to state all four years of high school.”
Q: How have you performed at state?
CHASEK: “Really good. I’ve always won a couple buckles and placed high.”
Q: What events have you competed in during previous seasons?
CHASEK: “Team roping is the event I’ve always done, and I’ve picked up steer wrestling this year.”
Q: Talk about the bond that you have with your team roping partner.
CHASEK: “We get along great. We’re even going to rope together at Chadron State.”
Q: So did you two get together to talk about which college you would like to rope together at?
CHASEK: “We kind of talked about it, and I decided that I would go to Chadron State, and he was trying to decide between Chadron State and LCCC in Cheyenne. He picked Chadron State. We knew that we would probably continue to rope together even if he had decided to go to LCCC because it’s the same region in rodeo.”
Q: What have been your places at state?
CHASEK: “My freshman year we ended up sixth in the team roping, and my sophomore year we were fifth. My junior year we were sixth again.”
Q: What is your goal this year?
CHASEK: “We’re hoping to be in the top four to make nationals.”
Q: When did you get involved with rodeo?
CHASEK: “I’ve been rodeoing since I was little – since I learned to ride.”
Q: How did you get interested in rodeo?
CHASEK: “When we were younger, we started getting ponies, and we lived north of Harrison, and there’s rodeos in Harrison and Crawford and Chadron and all the little towns up there. I entered some of them and really liked it. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Q: What was your favorite class this school year?
CHASEK: “It wasn’t necessarily my favorite class, but the one that I think will definitely help me the most was my stats class – a math class.”
Q: What are you planning to pursue degree-wise in college?
CHASEK: “Pre-chiropractic.”
Q: How did you get interested in that field?
CHASEK: “I’ve always wanted to be a vet. I wanted to be a chiropractor, and then I could work with equine, which is horses, and be an equine chiropractor, too.”
Q: Does it seem surreal that you’re done with high school?
CHASEK: “Yes. Since I got out of school, I’ve been working, and time is flying now.”
Q: Where do you work?
CHASEK: “Sioux County Feeders. It’s a feedlot north of Mitchell.”
Q: How much are you looking forward to getting your college career started?
CHASEK: “I’m super excited. I’m ready to get to college and start on my degree.”
Q: Talk about your high school experience overall. Was it a fun experience?
CHASEK: “Yes. Mitchell is a good school. It’s a good atmosphere there, and they have good teachers there.”
Q: Which teacher influenced you the most?
CHASEK: “I would say Mrs. [Liliana] Rada, our Spanish teacher. She’s really supportive, and she was always asking how the rodeos went and was always making sure we were doing good and keeping up on stuff. She always wants to help.”
Q: What was your top memory from your high school career?
CHASEK: “I thought it was pretty cool when I got Player of the Week twice my senior year in football.”
Q: How much pride did you take in being part of National Honor Society?
CHASEK: “I took a lot of pride in that. You have to maintain a 94 percent GPA at the end of each semester, and you have to put in community service hours and be involved.”
Q: How difficult was it to maintain a high GPA?
CHASEK: “It was difficult at times.”
Q: What was the key for you to keep your grades high?
CHASEK: “Just not slacking off and getting behind in my classes. I made sure that I got my homework done, and I prepared for my tests.”
Q: How much have you enjoyed living in Mitchell?
CHASEK: “I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s a good town.”
NOTE: Area high school students named Athlete of the Week or Student of the Week will be included in the upcoming issue of Nspire Today! magazine. To sign up for a one-year subscription (12 issues), please send $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 60363, or call 308-220-8865. If you would like to increase your subscription to $20, Nspire Today! will donate the extra $5 this month to Camp Scott. Nspire Today!, a locally owned and operated business based out of Scottsbluff, focuses on positive, feel-good and inspiring content on people in the Panhandle and eastern Wyoming.
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