Mid-Plains Community College has announced that Head Rodeo Coach Garrett Nokes passed away unexpectedly on Sunday at his home.
Nokes sustained a head injury from a horse at his home after rodeo practice on the evening of January 28th, 2021. He underwent surgery and a stay in the ICU in Kearney. He was moved to acute rehab on February 5. Garrett was released from the hospital to go home with his two boys Trevor and Parker, and wife Laura early last weekend.
MPCC President Ryan Purdy commented that “Garrett’s strong work ethic was second to none. He led by example and held high expectations for his student-athletes to do the same. Garrett will be missed, but the impact he had on people both inside and outside of the rodeo arena will live on through them forever,”
Nokes bulldogged at the 2005 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and finished fourth in the world that year. Another big thrill in his cowboy career was winning the #12 and his half of the $290,000 that went with it at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping and Finale at the South Point in Vegas with Scott Smith in 2017.
Nokes graduated from Oklahoma Panhandle State University and has been an amazing mentor of young talent as Mid-Plains Community College coach in North Platte. Nokes was named Coach of the Year for the Great Plains Region in May 2020.
Gifts and condolences may be sent to the following address:
Garrett Nokes Family Account
P.O. Box 1297
McCook, NE 69001
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