PRCA Standings Shuffle: 26 Move Up in Top 15
By Matt Naber
The end of the regular season is on the horizon, and cowboys are taking every opportunity to make a final push to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by placing within the Top 15 in the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
The first full week of September offered 17 competitions across North America worth a collective $838,481, the bulk of which stemmed from four rodeos with payouts in excess of $100,000.
The biggest checks came from the ProRodeo Tour Finale in Puyallup, Wash., where there was $253,600 on the table. Fort Madison, Iowa, hosted two major competitions last week, the Tri-State Rodeo for $115,524 and the Tri-State Rodeo Cinch Shoot-Out for $105,000. Meanwhile, the Lewiston (Idaho) Roundup offered $134,140 in prize money.
With so much money up for grabs, 26 cowboys saw their positions improve within the Top 15, largely thanks to successful trips to last week’s biggest rodeos.
Cowboys know it’s easier to maintain a position at the top than it is to play catch-up when trying to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Every dollar counts, and making the Top 15 in the world standings during the final month of the season builds a cowboy’s confidence and establishes a foundation for the race for the gold buckle at the Wrangler NFR.
Nobody knows this better than steer wrestler J.D. Struxness, who broke the bubble by jumping seven spots, going from 16th to ninth, by winning $10,490 across four rodeos. The Minnesota cowboy was co-champion with Bob Loosenort at the Tri-State Rodeo for $2,728 and picked up $3,503 in Puyallup, $3,000 at the Cinch Shoot-Out in Fort Madison and $1,259 at the Spokane (Wash.) Interstate Rodeo.
Struxness, 24, qualified for the Wrangler NFR in 2016-17 and ended those seasons ranked fourth and seventh in the world standings, respectively. The 2018 season didn’t go as well for him, but he came back in 2019 to win the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo, the Tulsa (Okla.) State Fair PRCA Rodeo and the Woodward (Okla.) Elks Rodeo.
Now, he’s closing in on ending the 2019 season ranked in the Top 15, along with the following cowboys who also moved up within the Top 15 last week.
Six Spots
• Jordan Hansen moved from 14th to eighth in bull riding.
Five Spots
• Tyler Milligan moved from 12th to seventh in tie-down roping.
Four Spots
• Tim O’Connell moved from 11th to seventh in bareback riding.
Three Spots
• Clay Tryan moved from sixth to third in team roping heading.
• Mitch Pollock moved from 14th to 11th in saddle bronc riding.
• Thomas Smith moved from 17th to 14th in steer roping.
Two Spots
• Travis Graves moved from fifth to third in team roping heeling.
• Rusty Wright moved from fifth to third in saddle bronc riding.
• Jacobs Crawley moved from sixth to fourth in saddle bronc riding.
• Jade Corkill moved from seventh to fifth in team roping heeling.
• Josh Frost moved from 12th to 10th in bull riding.
• Matt Sherwood moved from 13th to 11th in team roping heading.
• Koby Radley moved from 16th to 14th in bull riding.
One Spot
• Clayton Biglow moved from second to first in bareback riding.
• Junior Nogueira moved from second to first in team roping heeling.
• Hunter Cure moved from third to second in steer wrestling.
• Haven Meged moved from third to second in tie-down roping.
• Tuf Cooper moved from fourth to third in steer roping.
• Spencer Wright moved from eighth to seventh in saddle bronc riding.
• Dakota Eldridge moved from ninth to eighth in steer wrestling.
• Cody Snow moved from ninth to eighth in team roping heading.
• Brenten Hall moved from 10th to ninth in team roping heading.
• Wesley Thorp moved from 13th to 12th in team roping heeling.
• Tyler Worley moved from 14th to 13th in team roping heeling.
• Cody Lee moved from 14th to 13th in steer roping.
Cowboys on the bubble for a spot in the Top 15 can find themselves a few dollars short of qualifying for the Wrangler NFR. The following cowboys climbed the standings to No. 16.
• Bareback rider Steven Peebles moved from 19th and is $858 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Team roping header Dustin Egusquiza moved from 17th and is $4,464 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Tie-down roper Jon Douch moved from 17th and is $6,694 away from breaking into the Top 15.
With the New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo in Albuquerque underway through Sept. 15 and the Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up running Sept. 11-14, big jumps such as Struxness’ are sure to happen again. Fans can catch all the Pendleton action on the Wrangler Network.
Check back with ProRodeo.com next week to see who the leaders are in the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
Courtesy of PRCA