ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 6, 2024

TREMONTON, UTAH

GOLDEN SPIKE RODEO

Kalawaia using wins like Golden Spike to stay in hunt Strategic Finish TOP SCORES Wright

TOP MONEY EARNER Ryder Wright ($6,655, saddle bronc riding) BAREBACK RIDING

BY ALEX RILEY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News T risyn Kalawaia did his homework which led to a conclusion – he didn’t like the math. Prior to his first visit to Tremonton, Utah, for a run during slack at the Golden Spike Rodeo, the steer wrestler had done some research to see what it would take to be in contention for the championship. The intel told him he had to be fast. After finishing in 4.2 seconds, Kalawaia had convinced himself it was a good effort, but likely not good enough. “I looked at the times from past years and they were 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and I was like, ‘Shoot, hopefully I just get a good check out of here,’” Kalawaia said with a laugh. “But I think the steers were just a little fresher this year. There were a few of them you wanted in that pen, and I had one of them. I was glad I was able to have one of them and do my job.” Fortunately for the Hilo, Hawaii, native, his initial instinct was wrong, as that 4.2-second effort was good enough to hold off runners-up Stan Branco and Landris White at 4.4 seconds each, allowing him to win the Golden Spike title and $5,058 in prize money. The outcome was exactly what Kalawaia needed as the final few weeks of the PRORODEO regular season unfold. A year after cracking the top 35 in PRCA | RAM World Standings with slightly less than $52,000 in earnings, Kalawaia came into 2024 intending to ramp things up. He’s already cleared more than $64,500 and had a spot in the top 20 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings heading into the weekend. To keep climbing and position himself for one of the 15 qualifying spots for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge this December, Kalawaia has to navigate a narrow path to the finish line. During the spring, he wanted to gain experience and pile up as much prize money as possible, so he stopped at several smaller rodeos throughout the country. The result gave him a lot of confidence, but with right at a month left to go, Kalawaia is inching closer to maxing out his rodeo count. That puts high stakes on every run between now and the end of September. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of big opportunities out there in the Northwest, allowing the steer wrestler to stay focused and optimistic. While he knows it’s going to take a lot of strategic maneuvering over the next month, Kalawaia is up for the challenge. “Every steer I run, kind of the mentality of it is whether they’re good or bad, they have to be good with what we’ve got left,” Kalawaia said. “Making good runs and being sharp and being dialed in, that’s just kind of what I need to do right now if I want to make the Finals. There’s a lot more money to win out there and I’ve just got to keep making runs and push through.”

1. Sam Petersen ...................... 87.5 pts. 2. Orin Larsen ................................... 87 (Tie) Dean Thompson ................... 87 STEER WRESTLING 1. Trisyn Kalawaia ..................... 4.2 sec. 2. Stan Branco ................................ 4.4 (Tie) Landris White ...................... 4.4 TEAM ROPING 1. B. Brown/J. Patton ................ 4.4 sec. (Tie) T. Tomlinson/P. Smith .......... 4.4 (Tie) T. Wade/W. Thorp ................ 4.4 (Tie) N. Wyatt/J. Torres ................ 4.4 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Ryder Wright .......................... 89 pts. 2. Damian Brennan ........................... 87 3. Ira Dickinson .............................. 86.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Riley Pruitt ............................ 7.3 sec. 2. Tuf Cooper ................................... 7.9 3. Brushton Minton .......................... 8.1 BARREL RACING 1. Tiany Schuster .................. 17.10 sec. 2. Keyla Costa .............................. 17.15 3. Carlee Otero ............................. 17.20 BULL RIDING 1. Tristen Hutchings ................... 89 pts. 2. Briggs Madsen ........................... 87.5 3. Cooper James ............................... 86

Complete results/Page 62

Emily Hilton photo Trisyn Kalawaia put together a 4.2-second run during slack at the Golden Spike Rodeo to capture the win. The victory added $5,058 to his 2024 ledger.

ProRodeo Sports News 9/6/2024

ProRodeo Sports News 9/6/2024

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