SLIPPERY ROCK — Klint Shamblin is into wrestling — not just against people.

He takes on steers as well.

The Slippery Rock High School sophomore — a football player and wrestler for the Rockets — has qualified for the 75th annual National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo. The event begins Sunday and runs through July 22. Shamblin’s event is steer wrestling.

“I’ve been a steer wrestler for about four years now,” Shamblin said. “I’ve been around rodeos and competed in them pretty much my whole life. I was born into it, really.

“I used to rope sheep and calves. Once I got older and became a bigger guy, I switched over to steer wrestling.”

And he’s pretty good at it.

A member of the Ohio high school rodeo team, Shamblin qualified for the national rodeo event through accumulating points during eight rodeo competitions throughout the year. Four are held in the spring, four in the fall.

A top number of point-getters after that eight-rodeo circuit is complete get invited to compere at nationals.

“Klint actually missed one of those eight rodeos, but still got enough points to qualify,” his father, Kevin Shamblin, said. “That’s pretty impressive. The competition out there (Wyoming) is going to be fierce, but he’s pretty good at it.”

The elder Shamblin should know. He’s competed in professional rodeos and now serves as a judge on the circuit.

“This has been in our family for a long time,” he said. “My father did it. We raise bulls. It’s always been a big part of our lives.”

This is the first year Klint has competed on the high school circuit. He joined the Ohio team because it’s geographically closer than the Pennsylvania team.

Steer wrestling is about riding a horse while next to the running steer, jumping off the horse, grabbing the steer’s horns and wrestling him to the ground. No rope is used.

“Like anything else, you get better the more you do it,” Klint said. “I’m on a pretty good team, too. There’s four of us who have qualified for Wyoming and I think we can all do well there.”

His father agreed.

“That Ohio team has a great set of kids,” Shamblin said. “There are 12 to 15 kids from that team heading out (to nationals) in different events and they’re all good.”

The National High School Finals Rodeo will feature more than 1,700 contestants from 44 states, five Canadian provinces, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand. It is the world’s largest rodeo and more than $150,000 in prizes will be at stake.

NHSFR contestants will also be competing for more than $375,000 in college scholarships and the opportunity to be named a world champion.

“I’m very excited about this,” Klint said. “For my first time doing high school rodeo, I’m anxious to see how I stack up against everybody. I’m confident I can do well.

“The top 20 (after combined times/scores through the first two rounds) advance to the final round. The champions come from there.”

Champions will be determined by combined times/scores of all three rounds.

“College coaches from all over the country will be there,” Klint’s father said. “There aren’t many colleges around here that have rodeo, but it’s very popular in other parts of the country. Texas has 130 colleges that have rodeo teams. Oklahoma has a lot, too. So do other states.

“Klint would love to land one of those scholarships.”

And beyond.

“I want to take this as far as I can,” Klint said.