Shane O’Connell of Rapid City, S.D., helped wrap up the first round of competition at the 65th annual National High School Finals Rodeo with a bang on Wednesday morning at the Sweetwater Events Complex. Shane turned in a 79-point ride to jump to the top of the bareback riding standings. He sits three points ahead of Texas’ Preston Burr in the final first round standings. He was the only contestant to jump to the top of the round standings on Wednesday morning. Other first round winners include Jordyn Schaefer of Des Lacs, N.D. in breakaway roping; Raelee Self of Powderly, Texas, in pole bending; Marcus Theriot of Poplarville, Miss., in tie-down roping; Samray Hooper of Andrews, Texas, in boys cutting; Sean McPadden of Garretson, S.D., in steer wrestling; Quincy Pendergrass of Adrian, Ore., in goat tying; As for the 2012 national champions who are back this year, most have put themselves in position to defend their titles heading into the second round. Saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright took second place in the first round, finishing two points behind his younger brother, Ryder. New Mexico’s Leia Pluemer finished fourth overall in pole bending with a time of 20.068 seconds, while boys cutter Hunter Hightower tied for fifth with a 144-point run in the first round. Arkansas’ Ricky Rice was also fifth in the first round in his event, with a time of 4.89 seconds. Idaho’s Sadee Smith was sixth in girls cutting with a 144-point run, just three points behind the leader, while barrel racing champ Vanessa Leggett of British Columbia was ninth after a 17.718-second run in the first round. In breakaway roping, Florida’s Cady Cooper isn’t quite as high as she’d like at 36th overall with a 3.6-second run. But a year ago, a 3.25-second run in the second round left her out of the top 20 in that round, and she still came back to win the championship buckle. The 2012 champions in bareback riding, bull riding, goat tying, team roping and tie-down roping all graduated and were not eligible to return to the NHSFR this year.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 18:29:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015