The first-ever Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo was held Aug. 25-26 in Danville. The two-day event showcased the skills and safety training of electric cooperative lineworkers.
A total of 15 teams and 54 individuals competed in this year’s event, including 26 individuals from six Hoosier Energy member cooperatives – Clark County REMC, JCREMC, RushShelby Energy, Southern Indiana Power, Whitewater Valley REMC and WIN Energy. Events such as pole climbing, hurt man rescue and safely changing electric line hardware were divided into individual competitions for Apprentice Linemen and Journeyman Linemen as well as team competitions.
Sam Wood of JCREMC took first place in both the Apprentice Hurt Man Rescue and the Apprentice Angle Pole Transfer and Tie. Clark County REMC’s Dakota Evans finished second in both events, and Clark’s Wyatt Binkley was third in the pole transfer and tie.
Evans took first in the Apprentice Skill Climb, while Shawn Wolfe of WIN Energy REMC was third.
Evans’ efforts earned him a first-place finish overall in the Apprentice division, while Wolfe was second and Nate Best of RushShelby Energy was third.
Dustin Wisehart of JCREMC had the top Hoosier Energy co-op finish in the Journeyman division with a second in the Hurt Man Rescue.
The Team Overall title was won by the Clark County REMC trio of Bo Simpson, Wyatt Binkley and Harley Applegate, while Clark County’s Jerry Applegate, Nathan Clayton and Jacob Pierce finished second.
In the Hurt Man Rescue, it was the Southern Indiana Power crew of Travis Goffinet, Clint Heeke and Jim Applegate taking first place with Clark County’s Nathan Hall, Chris Woods and Dakota Evans in third.
Clark County swept the top two spots in the Team Dead-End with Simpson, Binkley and Applegate in first, followed by Applegate, Clayton and Pierce.
The same two teams topped the Team De-energized OCR Changeout, only swapping places as Applegate, Clayton and Pierce took first. Fellow Clark County squad Hall, Woods and Evans came home tied for third.