ProRodeo Sports News - November 2, 2018

NUMBERS Heading to the NFR T he 60th edition of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is right around the corner. As the 2018 regular season concluded and the PRCA | RAM World Standings were finalized, the numbers painted a vivid picture of how intense PRCA competition was and how important it was for cowboys to build a strong lead early in the season if they wanted a shot at qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Except for barrel racing, 20 of this year’s NFR qualifiers have been in the Top 15 the entire season, according to each week’s world standings update. The majority of this year’s qualifiers across all events were established by the end of Cowboy Christmas. Though no one knew it at that time, it basically left only a few slots to be filled for the Top 15. The following are just some of the highlights about the 2018 batch of Top 15 cowboys for each event from Dec. 19, 2017, through Oct. 1, 2018. BY MATT NABER

Fun facts leading up to 2018 Wrangler NFR BAREBACK RIDING • Clayton Biglow, Bill Tutor, Jake Brown and Shane O’Connell never fell out of the Top 15. • The bareback riding lineup was solidified immediately following Cowboy Christmas. Every bareback rider in the Top 15 at the end of the season has been in the Top 15 since Wyatt Denny made it in following Cowboy Christmas . STEERWRESTLING • Curtis Cassidy and Jacob Talley stayed in the Top 15 all season. • Kyle Irwin fought to stay in the Top 15. According to each week’s world standings update, he fell out of the Top 15 around Feb. 5, got back in Feb. 20. Then he fell out around April 2 and got back in April 16. Then he fell out around Aug. 9 and got back in Aug. 23. • Nick Guy wasn’t in the Top 20 until about the third week of August and entered the Top 15 for the first time in mid-September. • Nine of the 15 steer wrestlers who qualified for the Wrangler NFR have been in the Top 15 • Clay Smith and Cody Snow stayed in the Top 15 all season. Smith was the top header every week of the season except from mid-August through mid-September. • Chad Masters wasn’t in the Top 30 until the end of July when he jumped from 31st to 14th. He’s been in the Top 15 every week since. • Aaron Tsinigine fell out of the Top 15 around the third week of February and fought his way back in by Cowboy Christmas. • Tyler Wade had a turbulent year. He entered the Top 15 around the beginning of April, fell out at every week since Cowboy Christmas. TEAM ROPING HEADING

Jake Brown rides Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Tequila Talking for 84.5 points in Puyallup, Wash., Sept. 7. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Kent Soule

ProRodeo Sports News 11/2/2018

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