PRCA for the Record: Wrangler NFR Round 9
The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Round 9 record for fastest team roping time also shows it as the fastest team roping run in ProRodeo history, and it was done twice in the ninth round.
The first duo to make 3.3 seconds was Chad Masters and Jade Corkill in 2009. Then in 2017, Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira also stopped the clock in 3.3 seconds. The only other set of team ropers to make a 3.3-second run was Brock Hanson and Ryan Motes at the Nacogdoches (Texas) Pro Rodeo & Steer Show in March 2012.
Masters and Corkill placed in three additional rounds at the 2009 Wrangler NFR and broke the record for regular-season earnings by a team roper with $127,749 each. (This record has since been broken by Levi Simpson and Jeremy Buhler with $186,000 each in 2016.)
Masters is a 13-time qualifier for the Wrangler NFR (2003-04, 2006-12, 2015, 2017-19) and two-time world champion (2007 and 2012). Corkill is a 10-time qualifier (2008-15, 2017 and 2019) with three world titles (2012-14).
Driggers and Nogueira placed in six rounds at the 2017 Wrangler NFR with wins in Rounds 1 and 9 to place seventh in the average with $120,494. Driggers finished second in the 2017 team roping heading world standings with $254,471. Nogueira ranked fifth in the 2017 all-around standings with $256,923, second for team roping heeling with $255,417 and won $7,324 in tie-down roping that year.
Driggers is an eight-time qualifier for the Wrangler NFR (2011-14 and 2016-19) and Nogueira is the 2016 All-Around World Champion and a six-time qualifier for the Wrangler NFR (2014-19).
Now all four of the Wrangler NFR’s fastest team ropers are heading to the 61st annual Wrangler NFR.
The following is the breakdown of the highest scores and fastest times recorded for the ninth round of the Wrangler NFR.
Bareback Riding
90 points
• Rowdy Buechner on Kesler Rodeo’s Sky Reach, 2005
• Tim O’Connell on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Vitalix Ain’t No Angel, 2018
Steer Wrestling
3.2 seconds
• Derek Daye, 1993
• Cash Myers, 2001
• Luke Branquinho, 2007
Team Roping
3.3 seconds
• Chad Masters/Jade Corkill, 2009
• Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 2017
Saddle Bronc Riding
92 points
• Dan Mortensen on Kesler Rodeo’s Painted Smile, 2002
Tie-down Roping
6.6 seconds
• Hunter Herrin, 2015
Barrel Racing
13.40 seconds
• Hailey Kinsel, 2018
Bull Riding
95.5 points
• Zack Brown on Terry Walls Rodeo’s Red Alert, 2003
These records, and the records of the other nine rounds, could be broken Dec. 5-14. Fans can check with ProRodeo.com for updates throughout the competition and watch the action unfold on CBS SportsNetwork or on delay at ProRodeoTV.com.
Courtesy of PRCA