A man with his back against the wall has no choice but to come out fighting, and that’s exactly what a handful of contestants did during the ninth performance of the 66th annual National High School Finals Rodeo on Thursday night at the Sweetwater Events Complex. Contestants who had no times/scores or came in with long times/low scores in the first round certainly had their backs against the walls. If they’ve chosen to enter the optional rodeo jackpot, then they still have the chance to collect a check. They can also contribute to their state/province team by picking up some valuable points with a great second-round run, even if qualifying for the short round might be out of reach. Arkansas bulldogger Britt Driggers, for example, was 13.11 on his first-round run. With nothing to lose, he backed into the box, set his horse and then exploded into the arena where he turfed his steer in 4.91 seconds. His run is the fastest of the week in steer wrestling and helped him to 13th in the average standings with three performances remaining in the second round. But Driggers wasn’t the only one to post the fastest time of the week on Thursday night. MaKayla Jacobs of New Mexico came in with a no-time in the first round of breakaway roping. She was so fast in the second round that if you blinked you might not have even known she was in the arena. The cheers of the crowd, however, would have given it away as she stopped the clock at 2.14 seconds to grab the lead in the round. She won’t make the short round, but she could very well claim the first place buckle for the second round on Saturday. After hitting a pole in round one, Kellie Collier of Texas also had nothing to lose on Thursday night. She made her way through the pole bending pattern blindingly fast, stopping the clock at 19.914 seconds for the fastest run of the rodeo. It was only the second time all week a cowgirl turned in a 19-second run in the event. Like MaKayla, she won’t make the short round in the event, but the points she’ll likely pick up for the second-round run could make a difference for the Lone Star State in a tight race for the team title. Wyoming’s Brody Cress went for broke in saddle bronc riding after failing to make a qualified ride in the first round and was rewarded with a 73-point marking. That lone score has him sitting seventh in the average standings, and just might be enough to get him into Saturday night’s short round. After a dismal showing in the first two performances of the second round, the bull riders apparently decided they weren’t ready to give up as a group. They’d managed just one qualified ride in the first two perfs of the round, but put together four rides on Thursday night, including an 82-point ride by Brody Yeary of Texas. Also on Thursday, the second NHSFR national champion was crowned as Grant Anderson of Illinois won the trap shooting competition at the Rock Springs Trap Club. Anderson and Utah’s Colten Rock were both perfect through four rounds, hitting 25 of 25 clays in each round to force a tiebreaker. Grant hit nine of 10 clays – to Colten’s eight of 10 – to win the national championship and the Gist Silversmiths buckle that goes with it. For Full Rodeo Results, go to: nhsra/2014-NHSFR-Performance-9
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 04:04:24 +0000
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