No more leaving campus under the cover of darkness.

No more staying off social media.

No more staring at the locker room floor after being asked, “What did you do this weekend?

Justus Peterson can share the news.

The Dillon cowboy is a full-fledged steer wrestler.

The 23-year-old Peterson qualified for the Northern Rodeo Association Finals presented by nuWest Builders last October but had to decline because of a previous engagement. He was playing for the Montana Tech football team against Rocky Mountain College.

Peterson has already pulled two checks on the Mountain Health Co-op Tour this year, placing fourth at the 2025 opener in Conrad and second at the Valley View Rodeo in Bozeman.

“The NRA is great. It’s so much fun,” said Peterson. “It gives guys an opportunity to build their confidence. Just a chance to compete. I love it and its great the money being added.

“And you get to see guys like Quinn McQueary (former record-setting Montana Tech quarterback) … Go Diggers.”

McQueary, of Belgrade, is reigning NRA tie-down roping champion.

A product of Montana rodeo royalty, Peterson is a latecomer to his newest endeavor.

Peterson’s father, Jesse, is a multi-time Montana Pro Rodeo circuit champion bulldogger and two-time collegiate champion. Jesse Peterson might be best known for owning Gunner, a steer wrestling horse that carried competitors to three world titles.

His grandfather, Benny Reynolds, is the 1961 PRCA all-around world champion and inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1993. The colorful multi-event cowboy earned the Linderman Award in 1966.

“I remember some funny things,” said the grandson of his grandfather who passed away when Peterson was in sixth grade. “Going out to feed the horses. And we always split a turkey leg at Thanksgiving.

“He was very stingy (laughs). He once gave me 21 dollars for getting into fight at school. I still have the envelope with the 21 dollars … he spelled my name wrong on the envelope.”

Peterson’s uncle, Rooster Reynolds, won the NRA steer wrestling title in 1987 and was the National Finals Rodeo average champion in 1995.

“There was never any pressure,” said the third-generation Peterson. “My parents supported me in all my sports. My father was my Little League coach.”

Peterson was an all-conference quarterback and all-state defensive back for Dillon. He also ran track, helping the Beavers win the Class A state title. He was all-state both hurdle races and both relays.

His mother Jenny is a former volleyball player and coach for Montana Western.

Both parents are members of the UWM athletic hall of fame.

“We’re a very competitive family. Playing basketball against my mom, I got a bloody nose,” Peterson continued with another laugh. “And don’t get me started on board games.”

Peterson decided to try steer wrestling last spring. “Last May was the first time I ran steers on a horse,” he said. “I had ridden horses now and then growing up around the ranch. I had been running steers while on the ground the year before.

“Dad helped me find a horse. Oh, I was really nervous.”

Peterson’s first Mountain Health Co-op Tour event was Gardiner. “I was dry heaving all the way.”

His first check was a win at Polson soon after. “I was super pumped,” he said.

Peterson added wins at Bozeman and Shelby, along with second-place finishes at Choteau and Eureka. He was third at Havre and fourth in Deer Lodge.

Peterson traveled with Ryder Gaasch of Dillon who won the all-around cowboy and steer wrestling titles in 2024.

While making a name for himself in the rodeo world, Peterson kept quiet on the Montana Tech campus.

“I didn’t tell him,” he said of Kyle Samson, the Oredigger head coach. “If he would have asked, I would have told him it was my summer job. I’ve got to make a living.”

He left campus after a scrimmage to compete in the late night slack at Deer Lodge and left Butte for Hamilton after Montana Tech’s victory against No. 3-ranked Georgetown (Kentucky) in the season opener.

“I’d have to say the thrill,” Peterson said of steer wrestling. “For most guys after football, they’re done. I’m still competing. You put in the work and you see the results.”

Peterson played quarterback for the Orediggers for three seasons before switching to defensive back for the final two.

Peterson sees similarities in the two collision sports.

“The mindset, the preparedness is similar to being a quarterback,” he said, “You watch a lot of film of your competition. On defense, it’s that physical edge. Going hard after your target.”

Peterson has a degree in construction management and is taking additional classes in welding and machining. He was the lone member of the Montana Tech rodeo team this spring, “I made a vest,” Peterson said, and found time to run hurdles for the Oredigger track and field program. He will run them again in 2026.

“I would like to qualify for NAIA nationals and the CNFR,” he said. “Those are lofty goals, but that’s the plan.”

Peterson also definitive NRA goals. “The goal is to be number one in the standings and stay No. 1 in the standings.”

Last week

The Mountain Health Co-op Tour passed out its first four-figure checks of the season, five at the Valley View Rodeo in Bozeman.

Brooklin Baukol took home two. The Clyde Park Cowgirl won the tightly-bunched barrel racing for $1,117 and split first in breakaway roping with Choteau’s Molly Salmond for another $1,085. Just .11 seconds separated the top in barrel racing and .35 the top eight.

The other big winners were team ropers Dillon Johnson and Colter Fisher, both pocketing $1,222. Trevar McAllister Ronan won the bareback riding, his third win of the season.

Other Bozeman winners: Trevar McAllister, Ronan, bareback; Garrett Varilek, Rapid City, South Dakota, saddle bronc; Levi Wagner, Three Forks, bull riding; Grant Kiechler, Eureka, steer wrestling; Jade Gardner, Ballantine, tie-down roping; Dillon Johnson-Colten Fisher, Shepherd, team roping; Brooklin Baukol, Clyde Park, barrel racing; Baukol and Molly Salmond, Choteau, breakaway roping; Sylvia Eash, Fortine, junior barrel racing; Tuff Berg, Stanford, junior breakaway roping.

Up next

The Mountain Health Co-Op Tour closes out June with three rodeos in three days and begins July the same way.

The Mission Mountain Rodeo and Big Timber Rodeo are June 27-28.

Mission Mountain Rodeo features 7 p.m. performances both days, while Big Timber will go at 7 p.m. on June 27 and at 6 p.m. on June 28.

The weekend wraps up with the Opheim Rodeo at 1 p.m. on June 29.

With little time to rest, competitors will gallop into the annual Fourth of July run with rodeos in Harlowton (July 2-3), Ennis (July 3-4) and Choteau (July 4).

Harlowton has 6:30 p.m. shows each day while Ennis opens the chutes at 7 p.m. both performances. The Choteau American Legion Rodeo begins at 2 p.m.