ProRodeo Sports News 2023 Year-End Edition

STEER WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPION

Tyler Waguespack split sixth with a 4.9-second run in Round 3, which was a key piece in his journey to another world title. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson

PRCA ProRodeo photo by XClick Thompson

Five-Timer BY DAGIN RENCK, Special to ProRodeo Sports News T he stress causes teeth to grind. Palms to sweat. And nerves to fray. There is nothing like competing on the sport’s biggest stage with everything at stake. Then, factor in needing a breathtaking rally. Tyler Waguespack relishes emerging from the middle of the pack,

he was a hard running steer,” Waguespack said. “I wasn’t very happy about him and having drawn him. I talked to my hazer and said if you can get up there and shut him down at all, we can get a good run. We ran him over halfway and the Lord was behind me right there. We turned sideways, but golly it worked out.” The door remained ajar for Waguespack when he received a little help. Dalton Massey was leading the world standings as the last cowboy out and clocked a 13.3-second run. It included a 10-second penalty for breaking the barrier. He failed to place in the round and finished sixth in the average. The math worked for Waguespack again. He finished atop the world standings with $303,576, breaking his previous single-season record of

298,676 set in 2016. Massey was second in the world standings with $283,993. A high-five of titles is a big deal, leaving Waguespack in rarified air. Only ProRodeo Hall of Famers Homer Pettigrew (6) and Luke Branquinho (5) boast at least five steer wrestling gold buckles. This wasn’t the first time Waguespack waved the wand and worked his wizardry. In 2022, Waguespack entered Round 10 third in the world standings and exited the Thomas & Mack Center with a gold buckle. “I come from a great family; they’ve always been there. Helping me throughout and kept pushing me to be better and better,” Waguespack said. “We’d go to practice, and we worked hard, and we got a lot of trust in the Lord. All of this gets us where we need to be. I can’t wait for January to come around. Let’s get rolling and let’s go do it again.”

Tyler Waguespack claims fifth world championship

undeterred by sitting in fourth place. For the second year in a row, Waguespack performed Round 10 magic to win another PRCA Steer Wrestling World Championship. Needing excellence in the final moment, Waguespack split the Round 10 win with a 3.8-second run, which helped him to reach third in the average and walk away with his eye-opening fifth world championship. “The run that I was able to pull off with the steer that I had was awesome,

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2023

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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