|
Nebraska youth new faces of Wrangler’s brand |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 |
 By MICHELLE ZLOMKE
Chief Managing Editor
“Meet your new 20X celebrities...”
That announcement capped several rounds of competition and introduced two Nebraska teens as the new faces of Wrangler Jeans 20X brand.
Jesse Johnson of Broken Bow and Trey Sheets of Hyannis snagged the title during the National High School Rodeo in Farmington, N.M. last week.
The announcement came during the dance for the rodeo competitors. It followed a day of personal interviews, greeting hundreds of other rodeo competitors and an appearance on stage in front of all the rodeo attendees.
The top three male and female 20X contenders even had to dance alone on stage in front of the crowd.
“I was kind of surprised with myself,” Johnson said. “I’m not shy and I’m not afraid to step out of my comfort zone, but in front of all those people...”
Johnson entered the contest on-line earlier this summer. She provided pictures and wrote a short essay.
She said the focus of her essay was about meeting goals in spite of challenges. She has struggled this year with her horses, she said.
“I had set a goal at the beginning of the year,” Johnson said. “I never quit and kept doing what I had to do. I had to keep playing the cards God gave me.”
She ended the Nebraska high school rodeo season as the state’s All Around Cowgirl.
“I ended the essay with ‘I’m Jesse Johnson, Nebraska’s All Around Cowgirl, and I’m 20X tough,’” she said.
Johnson, a 2009 Broken Bow High School graduate, learned before leaving for the rodeo that she and Trey had made the cut for the top 10 finalists in the boys’ and girls’ divisions.
However, the contest for the apparel company had to take a back seat as she focused on rodeo competition.
“I just tried not to make it one of my big worries,” Johnson said. “It didn’t really get exciting until it was down to the top three, because then it was a really big deal.”
Once Johnson was selected as one of the top three girls in the competition, she had to interview with a panel of judges -- familiar faces in the rodeo industry, she said.
The interview lasted about an hour.
“I felt really confident about the interview,” Johnson said.
Then each competitor had to answer a question in front of the crowd and follow that with a solo dance on stage.
After their on-stage appearance, the 20X competitors and other rodeo participants attended the dance and waited for the announcement.
So much of the competition was based on the opinion of the crowd, Johnson said, that the support of Nebraskans there really helped her and Sheets.
“I don’t think I could have done it without them,” she said. “I knew my friends were out there for me. With Nebraska’s huge support group, we pretty much dominated.”
Johnson said the award still amazes her.
“It’s just such a big deal and I’m just a girl from Broken Bow, Nebraska,” she said.
Johnson learned Tuesday that she will be provided a new wardrobe from 20X and that she needs to prepare for an upcoming photo shoot.
Johnson and Sheets will be featured in a 20X ad campaign.
While Johnson’s college plans are set, she said she’s open to more modeling.
“If the photo shoot goes well and I have a chance, I might do some more with it,” she said.
Currently, Johnson is enrolled at Western Oklahoma State University in Altus, Okla.
She has a rodeo scholarship and plans to study business administration.
Johnson said she ended the week at the national rodeo proud to be from Nebraska.
She said the state’s competitors did well in the arena and dominated in other areas, as well, winning both the volleyball tournament and the Knowledge Bowl. A Nebraska competitor was also selected as the new national Competitor President. |
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 August 2009 )
|
Huskers.com
