Poplarville native, Marcus Theriot is the nationally second ranked National Finals Rodeo all-around and tie-down roping defending champion. He qualified for another trip to Casper, Wyoming where he will lead the East Mississippi Community College men’s rodeo team to its first national championship appearance in program history, according to an EMCC release.

Theriot claimed his second National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Ozark Region all-around title this year. The EMCC sophomore standout will head into the championships accompanied by teammates Tristan Martin, Jace Harris, Ethan Wheeler and Cooper Christensen.

“Marcus is a huge part of this team and brings a work ethic that helps the team as a whole progressively get better,” EMCC Rodeo Coach Morgan Goodrich said.

At last year’s national college rodeo championship, Theriot single-handedly led EMCC to finish a school-best fifth place overall as a freshman, competing against full teams while being the lone lion representing EMCC. The Poplarville product was one of the handful of rodeo athletes qualifying in three separate events, during which he claimed the all-around national championship and tie-down roping titles, totaling 510 in the events and finishing 120 points ahead of the reserve all-around champion.

This year, Theriot will again look to headline EMCC’s rodeo team at nationals by keeping his two national crowns from last year, while possibly gaining a third.

“Marcus is a special talent. The work he puts in day in and day out is truly remarkable. We are blessed to have him on our team,” Goodrich said about Theriot, who claimed the Ozark Region’s all-around men’s champion title with 2,200 total points during the 2016-17 season.

Along with grasping the all-around title, the Poplarville native also maintained his Ozark Region’s tie-down roping (730) and team roping header (815) championships for the second straight year. The standout also repeated as the reserve champion in steer wrestling with 655 points earned.

And just like the year before, Theriot heads into the 2017 National Collegiate Rodeo Championship competing in three separate events, tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling.

“Anything can happen at nationals,” Goodrich said. “We are just honored to make it as a team and are excited for the opportunity.”

This year’s College National Finals Rodeo will be broadcast on ESPN3, available via the WatchESPN app, beginning Wednesday, running through Saturday night’s finals.