Event after event, the contestants at the 10th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo proved that they are among the best sixth to eighth-grade cowboys and cowgirls in the world on Sunday night in the opening performance at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Colorado’s Colten Fritzlan lit up the scoreboard in the Livestock Pavilion with a 79-point ride, but leads the first round by just three points as Idaho’s Coby Johnson marked 76, and helped get the bull riding off to an electrifying start as eight of the 15 riders made the eight-second whistle. Fritzlan isn’t trying on the Gist Silversmiths championship buckle just yet, however. A year ago, he scored 77 points in the second round, but a no-score in the short round left him sixth in the final average standings. “I had a little brindle bull that was kind of wild in the chutes,” said Colten, the state champion bull rider in Colorado. “I finally got out on him and he jumped out there a little bit about three or four jumps and then circled to the right. He was kind of tricky.” Despite being a “little behind” at times, Colten made the whistle and will celebrate on the trip home. He’s headed back to Rifle, Colo., to ride his colt and get on some practice bulls before heading back to Iowa for his second-round bull on Saturday morning. With any luck, he’ll be competing on Saturday night in the short round for the second straight year. Colten wasn’t the only one looking to put on a show in the NJHFR’s new home. Montana’s Opal Harkins and Kal Fuller turned in the type of run they’ll never forget in ribbon roping, stopping the clock at 4.81 seconds. While the run sent shockwaves through the crowd, Opal said she’s been as fast as 4.2 seconds in the event in the past. “Not a whole lot went through my mind once I started going.” Opal said. “The hardest part is holding the calf and trying to get the ribbon.” Other first round leaders after one performance include: Caxton Martin of Kansas with a 2.77-second run in girls breakaway roping; Dawson Stewart of Utah, with a 2.88-second chute dogging run; Seth Henenberg, of Missouri with a 2.46-second run in boys breakaway roping; and Utah’s Hayden Madsen, who stopped the clock at 15.653 seconds in barrel racing.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 03:27:52 +0000
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