Hawaii’s Jeremiah Lyman-Palakiko finishes in top-10 of a national rodeo competition

Hawaii’s Jeremiah Lyman Palakiko traveled alongside 17 other middle schoolers from Hawaii to compete in the National Junior High School Finals Rodeo (NJHSFR) in Des Moines, Iowa.

Lyman-Palakiko an 8th grader, competed against more than 200 others in the Chute Dogging competition.

The Hawaii native had the 7th best average score through all of his heats to earn 7th place in the entire event.

“I felt proud of myself and I felt good,” said Lyman-Palakiko.

The 14-year-old average was 12.62 seconds, which was only 3 seconds behind first place and after his final match, his friends and family quickly celebrated with him.

“They were happy, they were proud of me. and I have to thank them too because without them I wouldn’t be here,” said Lyman-Palakiko.

He is also not the only person in his family to compete on the national stage, as his grandfather Rob Lyman competed in the NHSFR when Hawaii first started competing on the national level.