A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Commending and honoring Shane O'Connell for his success and achievement in national and international rodeo competitions.

    WHEREAS, Shane O'Connell grew up on a ranch in South Dakota and began competing in various rodeo competitions at the age of five, as well as later winning four South Dakota High School championship titles, three in bareback riding and one in bull riding; and

    WHEREAS, O'Connell graduated from Rapid City Central High with a stellar resume in athletic talent, not only in the sport of rodeo but in football, as well as wrestling, and competed at the varsity level for both sports and received multiple awards for player of the game throughout his football career; and

    WHEREAS, O'Connell placed third individually in the state at the 2014 South Dakota State High School Wrestling Championship Tournament and fourth place at the same tournament in 2013, each time helping his team earn a high overall ranking. The term finished fourth and second as a team, respectively, in those two years; and

    WHEREAS, O'Connell has completed rigorous work to earned the awards he has received throughout his lifetime; and

    WHEREAS, O'Connell in 2013 was co-champion in bareback riding at the National High School Finals Rodeo; and

    WHEREAS, O'Connell finished nineteenth in the world championship standings in the year

2017; and

    WHEREAS, following the winter rodeo season, O'Connell was ranked sixth in the world standings, an honor few have achieved in their rodeo careers; and

    WHEREAS, O'Connell was co-champion at the All-American Finals Rodeo in Waco, Texas, a title many of his Rodeo companions dream of accomplishing:

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Ninety-Fourth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that the Legislature honors and commends Shane O'Connell for his outstanding achievements and performance in the sport of rodeo.