story by Ruth Nicolaus
Keo Wever is a “need for speed” kind of guy.
The seventeen-year-old cowboy, a member of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association, has raced four wheelers and dirt bikes and now races steers across the arena, as he heads for Mason Ward in the team roping.
His primary mount is a sixteen-year-old gray horse named Cotton, and his backup is Jiggs, a blue roan who is seventeen. Cotton is his favorite, although he’s owned Jiggs longer. Jiggs is good at both heading and heeling, but Cotton is for the heading only. In total, he owns five horses.
Keo is a senior at North Platte High School. He loves accounting and history classes, and as an underclassman, competed in wrestling and football and welded in Skills USA.
The fall of his junior year he lived near McAlester, Okla., where he attended Savanna High School. He played football, roped in jackpots, and made some good friends he stays in touch with. His favorite teacher is from Savanna High. Coach Brown, a history teacher and football coach, taught him about Oklahoma, and the two of them clicked, Keo said.
For fun, Keo loves to wakeboard and hang out with friends. One of his favorite Friday night activities, if he’s not roping, is “cruising the ones,” the one way streets in North Platte. His friends call him “Wever” and he loves to have a good time.
The funnest place he’s been to was Cabo San Lucas, where he went with his dad over Christmas break a few years ago. He loved the swimming, the beaches and the good Mexican food, including the steak burritos with hot sauce.
As for favorites, Keo loves the porcupine meatballs his grandpa Jim makes: rice, hamburger, onions and bell peppers. His favorite candy is Reese’s and his favorite beverages are Mountain Dew and sweet tea. He loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a snack. His favorite vegetable is broccoli, cooked or raw, and his favorite fruits are apples and peaches. If he had the choice of any food from a buffet, it would be steak, medium rare, with Worcestershire sauce.
Keo began to learn how to tie-down rope and steer wrestle last summer, but a broken leg has deterred him. In May of last year, the horse he was riding as they gathered steers in an arena took off, running him into the pipe fence of the heading box. It shattered the tibia and separated the fibula on his left leg. During surgery doctors inserted a twelve-inch rod, from knee to ankle, and three screws.
After high school, Keo will attend Chadron (Neb.) State College, where he will rope collegiately on a scholarship and study business administration.
He is the son of J.A. Wever and Dayna Foster.
