PRORODEO Sports News - October 4, 2024

MANAGER’S MESSAGE TRACY RENCK

Tie-down roper Hunter Herrin came up clutch at the Cinch Play offs Gover nor’s Cup. The PRORODEO veteran earned $28,000 in Sioux Falls to

cement his spot in the Top 15.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Clay Guardipee

Governor’s Cup delivered on its promise of drama T he date has come and gone. Ask any contestant in the PRCA what Sept. 30 means and they will know. That is the day the PRCA regular Herrin clocked a 7.6-second time to place third in Round 2 and he advanced in the average in eighth place with a 42.2-second time on two head.

Herrin kept his momentum rolling, finishing second in the finals and leaving Sioux Falls with $28,000 and moving up to 12th in the world standings with $123,999. “I wasn’t sure on the dollar amount I was behind, I just knew that if I could make the short round and place in a round that I would have a lot better shot (of moving up),” said Herrin, 40. Then, there was the improbable run by team ropers – Andrew Ward/Kollin VonAhn. VonAhn entered Sept. 28 on the outside of the NFR looking in as the No. 21 heeler in the world standings with $95,382. When the curtain dropped in Sioux Falls, Ward/VonAhn were celebrating. The duo won the final round with an electric 3.9-second time and collected $30,000 checks each. More importantly Ward finished sixth in the header world standings and heeler VonAhn was eighth. That was late-season drama at its finest. When the stakes were at their highest Ward and VonAhn delivered. There was plenty of talk about the $1.3 million Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup offering life-changing money – for some it was and for all it was season-changing money. There were 14 contestants who earned at least $30,000 in Sioux Falls. The top four money earners were Damian Brennan ($41,750); Hailey Kinsel ($41,000); Jess Pope ($39,625); and Shad Mayfield ($39,625). Rorey Lemmel, the Governor’s Cup general manager, and his entire staff should be applauded for producing a fantastic rodeo – a mini NFR – before the NFR. It doesn’t get any better than that.

season ends and when the final calculations begin to see who will earn a coveted spot in the Top 15 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings. What you see in the world standings on prorodeo.com is not official yet. Cowboys can still file grievances if they missed out of being in the Top 15 and believe they should be. So, sit still just to see who the 120 contestants will be competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge, Dec. 5-14 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Cowboys are definitely headed to Vegas and some as a result of the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., Sept. 26-28. The purpose of the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup was to create one huge payday on the last weekend of the PRCA regular season to help get cowboys on the bubble into the NFR. It did exactly that. Veteran tie-down roper Hunter Herrin took full On Sept. 26, Herrin arrived at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in the unenviable No. 16 spot in the PRCA | RAM World Standings, $3,340 behind Marcos Costa in the No. 15 spot. Couple that with the fact that with Herrin’s 34.6-second run in the first round on Sept. 26 and he had a mountain of pressure on his shoulders in Round 2. However, he wasn’t fazed at all. advantage of his opportunity.

Tracy Renck is the Manager of Communications and Media. He previously served three years as the editor of the ProRodeo Sports News , and before that he spent seven years as a media coordinator at the

PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism.

ProRodeo Sports News 10/4/2024

ProRodeo.com

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