Driggers Looking for Fourth San Antonio Rodeo Team Roping Championship
Team ropers Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira had to get a check on Thursday night to advance out of Bracket 3 into the semifinals at the San Antonio Rodeo. They won the round with a 4.5-second run earning $2,500 and will start the semifinals with $3,750. They won the team roping championship here in 2017 and are hoping to add a 2019 title to their resumes. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Greg Westfall.
SAN ANTONIO – If Kaleb Driggers was going to have a chance at a fourth San Antonio Rodeo team roping title, he and partner Junior Nogueira had to be fast in the AT&T Center on Thursday night.
They had a third-place finish in the first round of Bracket 3 and after being shut out in round three had to place first or second to advance to the semifinals. With Driggers from Hoboken, Georgia doing the heading and Nogueira from Presidente Prude, Brazil heeling, they stopped the clock in 4.5 seconds. That was good enough for a $2,500 check, a victory lap around the arena after their event was done and a spot in the semifinals. They dynamic duo won the team roping championship here in 2017.
Driggers joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 2009 and won his first title here the same year roping with fellow Georgian, Brad Culpepper. He also won it in 2015 heading for Travis Woodard of Stephenville, Texas. Along with the three trophy buckles that he has won here, he has collected $59,319. With the $3,750 he has already won here this year, that total is well over $60,000.
A 20-year-old college student is the big winner of Bracket 3. Haven Meged, from Miles, City, Mont., has dominated the tie-down roping in Bracket 3. He won the first round, tied for first in the second round, then finished third here on Thursday. His 8.1-second run earned him $1,250 and brought his total up to $6,000. Meged is going to school at Tarleton State University at Stephenville, Texas, on a rodeo scholarship.
After roping here, he was headed to San Angelo, Texas for their final round, then to Tucson, Arizona and will fly back here to rope in the semifinals. He qualified for San Antonio’s rodeo after having success at the beginning of the 2019 season. When he had a chance to enter and rope with some veterans, he took it. That decision is paying off.
“My horse has never been in a building like this one,” Meged said. “He’s worked really well, and I’ve had some luck. I’ve worked towards this for a long time and am really grateful it is going the way it is.”
Rodeo action continues in the AT&T Center on Friday, Feb. 15th beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The following are results after the ninth performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
Bracket 3, round 3 followed by semifinals qualifiers
Bareback Riding: 1, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 88.5 points on Zulu Warrior, $2,500. 2, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., and Pascal Isabelle, Okotoks, Alberta, 86 and $1,625 each. 4, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 84, $750. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Breuer, $5,740. 2, Aus, $4,375. 3, Isabelle, $4,125. 4, Dent, $3,625.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, 3.5 seconds, $2,500. 2, Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., 3.8, $2,000. 3, Blake Mindemann, Blanchard, Okla., 6.7, $1,250. 4, Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 11.3, $750. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas, $4,250. 2, (tie) Shaffer and Mindemann, $3,500 each. 4, Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo., $2,500.
Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, president Prude, Brazil, 4.5 seconds, $2,500. 2, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta and Cole Davison, Stephenville, Texas, 4.6, $2,000. 3, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 10.2, $1,250. 4, Blake Texeira, Tres Pinos, Calif., and Rory Brown, Edgemont, S.D., 14.8 $750. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Tryan and Graves, $5,750. 2, Driggers and Nogueira, $3,750. 4, Simpson and Davison, $3,250. 4, Brock Hanson, Bennett, Colo., and will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, $2,500.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 87.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Y U R Friskey, $2,500. 2, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, 86, $2,000. 3, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 84, $1,250. 4, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 77, $750. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Spencer Wright, $5,740. 2, Diaz, $4,500. 3, Rusty Wright, $3,125. 4, Mitch Pollock, Winnemucca, Nev., $3,250.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 7.7 seconds, $2,500. 2, Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D., 7.9, $2,000. 3, haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 8.1, $1,250. 4, Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., 8.2, $750. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Meged, $6,000. 2, Kissack, $2,750. 3, Pratt, $2,500. 4, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, $2,250.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 13.97 seconds, $2,500. 2, K.L. Spratt, Lysite, Wyo., 14.02, $2,000. 3, Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Idaho, 14.06, $1,250. 4, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 14.11, $750. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Bean, $4,500. 2, Spratt, $4,000. 3, Telford, $3,750. 4, Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, 14.19, $2,500.
Bull Riding: (two rides) 1, Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, 81.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s 516, $3,500. 2, Dustin Bouquet, Bourg, La., 75, $3000. (semifinals qualifiers) 1, Bouquet, $4,250. 2, Campbell, $3,500. 3, Koby Radley, Montpelier, La., $3,250. 4, Sage Steele Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., $2,500.