More Than $5 Million Paid At USTRC Finals

By Melinda Clements
Special To Ropers Sports News

Team roping is a passion for some and an obsession for others. One cannot describe the feeling you get when you back into the box to compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash. There is an intensity that boils deep within your guts and an adrenaline rush that overwhelms your whole body and soul.

The Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping (NFTR) is the ultimate team roping experience for not only the team-roping competitor but for any team roping enthusiast. This year the Cinch NFTR took place in Oklahoma City, Okla. at the state fairgrounds on Oct. 26-Nov. 3, 2013. For nine straight days it was the Mecca of team roping. Almost 4,000 individual team ropers from forty-three states and seven different countries made the trip to OKC along with their family and friends. The City welcomed more than ten thousand people to town for the duration of the event. More than 7,900 teams competed for $5,054,800 in cash and an additional $700,000 in prizes. Team ropers made over 16,500 cattle runs and cashed over 1,175 team roping checks.

The high money winners of the event earned loads of cash and prizes. Twenty-eight year old team roper Jace Baker from Mt. Pleasant, Texas earned the most money this year. He took home $79,750 for placing fifth in the average of the #11 Shoot Out with partner Tyson Thompson and first in the #9 Shoot Out with David Perry.

Heath Sanders 41, from Leachville, Ark. was a close second as he earned $72,750. Sanders won a fast time in the Gold Plus Shoot Out with partner Taylor Morgan. He and Nick Gonzales III won the average and incentive average of the #11 Preliminary. Sanders and Morgan came back and won the average of the #10 Shoot Out.

In addition to Baker and Sanders, David Perry earned $64,350, Taylor Morgan won $61,200 and Cliff Wheeler took home $60,750. Needless to say, a lot of team ropers left OKC with big money and with some awesome prizes. The event was certainly an affair that ropers will not soon forget.

Results are as follows (payoffs are per team):

OPEN PRELIMINARY

Average: 1st. Luke Brown and Jake Long, 32.91, $22,200. 2nd. Speed Williams and Shay Carroll, 35.38, $14,800. 3rd. Brock Hanson and Cesar DeLaCruz, 37.05, $11,400. 4th. Coleman Proctor and Jake Long, 37.44, $8,100. 5th. Tate Kirchenschlager and Dakota Kirchenschlager, 37.51, $6,100. 6th. Lane Ivy and Tyler Magnus, 37.54, $4,700.

Incentive: 1st. Robert Boyd and Casey Chamberlain, 30.9, $1,800. 2nd. Chance Savage and Wesley Johnson, 32.97, $1,200. 3rd. Chance Savage and Corey Hendrick, 35.46, $900.

PRIEFERT U.S. OPEN

Average: 1st. Aaron Tsinigine and Clay Cooper, 32.16, $100,320. 2nd. Kaleb Driggers and Travis Graves, 32.91, $66,880. 3rd. Nick Sartain and Rich Skelton, 34.31, $51,680. 4th. Chad Masters and Kory Koontz, 34.47, $36,480. 5th. Coleman Proctor and Jake Long, 34.54, $27,360. 6th. Charly Crawford and Ryan Motes, 34.87, $21,280.

#15 Preliminary

Average: 1st. Dakota Kirchenschlager and Blaine Vick, 26.64, $20,000. 2nd. Kolton Schmidt and Tavis Walters, 29.29, $12,300. 3rd. J.D. Bacon and Heath Osborne, 29.62, $8,400. 4th. Cole Wheeler and Douglas Rich, 29.97, $7,100. 5th. Clay Sieber and Wesley Thorp, 30.13, $5,800.

Incentive: 1st. Cody Reed and Adam Brown, 26.11, $2,400. 2nd. Tammy White and Zanga Schutte, 28.13, $1,800. 3rd. Garrett Busy and Cody Walton, 28.12, $1,200. 4th. Kyler Gomez and Mickey Gomez, 28.86, $900. 5th. Danielle Darnall and Shawn Darnall, 30.16, $600.

#15 Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Cole Wheeler and Douglas Rich, 37.65, $88,600. 2nd. Brody Bellett and Tyler Sieber, $49,100. 3rd. Zachary Tait Small and Casey Stipes, 39.27, $39,300. 4th. Mackey Tully and Billie Jack Saebens, 39.36, $29,500. 5th. Tyler Waters and Kevin Stewart, 39.74, $26,200.

#13 Preliminary

Average: 1st. Wesley Thorp and Cody McCluskey, 29.76, $21,700. 2nd. Tyler McGuffee and Cody Hogan, 30.66, $13,700. 3rd. Justice Ray Cathey and Dakota Shipp, 31.22, $9,400. 4th. Lightning Aguilera and Ross Ashford, 31.59, $8,000. 5th. Tucker Dale and Levi Lord, 31.92, $6,500.

Incentive: 1st. Dillon Shults and Cody Owens, 23.78, $2,400. 2nd. Tucker Menz and David Miller, 25.96, $1,800. 3rd. Rhett Redding and Chandler Calvin, 26.53, $1,200. 4th. David Hull and Charles Pogue, 29.88, $900. 5th. Dustin Leamon and Dustin Searcy, 32.09, $600.

#13 Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Sam Livingston and Calvin Taylor, 39.62, $97,100. 2nd. Nick Lauer and Buster Record, 40.55, $54,500. 3rd. Cory Smothers and Andrew Hill, 40.62, $43,600. 4th. Zachary Tait Small and Blair Tyler Small, 41.14, $32,700. 5th. Cliff Wheeler and Stephen Stransky, 41.44, $29,000.

#12 preliminary

Average: 1st. Zackary Thrift and Chad Baker, 32.21, $18,500. 2nd. Jake Ratliff and Jason Bagwell, 32.31, $11,500. 3rd. Cliff Wheeler and Tommy Guy, 33.08, $9,200. 4th. Tyler Thompson and Tyson Thompson, 33.16, $7,700. 5th. T.J. Coleman and Keith Coleman, 33.51, $6,900.

Incentive: 1st. Steve A. Taylor and Tyler Macoubrie, 27.72, $2,400. 2nd. Tyler Boston and Clint Herrin, 28.15, $1,800. 3rd. Shawn Felton and Kenny Stewart, 28.79, $1,200. 4th. David Hull and Dave Daube, 29.08, $900.

#12 Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Tyler Milligan and Jake Cooper Clay, 30.72, $108,300. 2nd. Cyle Denison and Jose Zambrano, 32.11, $61,400. 3rd. Cliff Wheeler and Danny Zuniga, 32.21, $49,100. 4th. Rick Montera and Jimmi Jo Montera, 32.24, $36,900. 5th. Tucker Menz and Colton Lee, 32.51, $32,800.

#12 Gold Plus Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Kirk Kooiker and Darren Lammers, 31.32, $58,400. 2nd. Max Vincent and Kent Thiessen, 31.77, $36,500. 3rd. Cliff Wheeler and Tommy Guy, 31.99, $29,200. 4th. Andrew Sharp and Doyle Scrivner, 33.31, $24,300. 5th. Monty Hurlburt and Mark Wray, 34.01, $21,900.

#12 U.S. Invitational

Average: 1st. Junior Hernandez and Jeff Medlin, 36.05, $48,500. 2nd. Mike Grant and Arron Mordahl, 40.18, $31,000. 3rd. Chris Cox and Brennan Harmon, 41.81, $21,000. 4th. Max Vincent and Kent Thiessen, 41.88, $17,800. 5th. Bob Herrington and Scott Sieler, 42.86, $14,500.

Incentive: 1st. Greg Shalberg and Scott Morlan, 23.78, $8,000. 2nd. Donnie Leflett and Corey Sparks, 24.13, $6,000. 3rd. Ricky Armstrong and Steve Mauldin, 24.29, $5,00. 4th. John Johnson and Brandon Thone, 24.66, $4,000.

Century

Average: 1st. Janet Mickelson and Jim Williams, 34.02, $24,100. 2nd. Bob Herrington and Bronc Fanning, 35.17, $15,000. 3rd. Jack Wilhite and Tracy Spencer, 37.96, $12,000. 4th. Robert Berndsen and Jerry Skaggs, 39.24, $10,000. 5th. Gaylon Robinson and Leon Winfrey, 39.3, $9,000.

Incentive: 1st. Gary Howard and D.C. Keith, 30.85, $1,200. 2nd. Joe Gallegos and Dwight Lynch, 33.63, $1,000. 3rd. Larry Snyder and Butch Gomes, 33.75, $800.

#10 Gold Plus Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Bob Herrington and Jay Johnson, 34.16, $64,700. 2nd. Gordon Coble and Jeremy McIntyre, 36.75, $40,400. 3rd. Darwin McGowan and Jake Fillmore, 38.61, $32,300. 4th. Terry Lee Payne and Donnie Ward, 39.09, $27,000. 5th. Steve Hinson and Bruce Barnett, 39.66, $24,300.

Cruel Girl Championship

Average: 1st. Mary Stubblefield and Tammy White, 31.03, $15,800. 2nd. Emily Nolan and Katie Nolan, 38.6, $10,000. 3rd. Rylea Rae Fabrizio and Debbie Fabrizio, 39.55, $6,900. 4th. Lori Thone and Tammy White, 43.83, $5,800. 5th. Jessica Shirley and Amanda Kooiker, 43.84, $4,700.

Incentive: 1st. Lydia Martin and Jaymee Roach, 23.02, $1,200. 2nd. Emily Nolan and Katie Nolan, 29.28, $1,000. 3rd. Jessica Shirley and Amanda Kooiker, 34.03, $800.

#11 Preliminary

Average: 1st. Nick Gonzales III and Heath Sanders, 30.66, $20,700. 2nd. Flavio de Souza and Rodrigues Lima, 31.95, $12,900. 3rd. Cooper Lee and Douglas Henry, 33.51, $10,300. 4th. Wyatt Rita and Robert Rita, 33.7, $8,600. 5th. Zack Cargle and Zachary Tait Small, 34.02, $7,800.

#11 Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Lynn Jarrell and E.J. Thomas, 33.46, $109,500. 2nd. Stran Morris and Clay Casper, 33.56, $62,200. 3rd. Osmar Hernandez and Orlando Jauregui Enriquez, 34.0, $49,800. 4th. Tanner Saunders and Ranger Hill, 34.11, $37,300. 5th. Jace Baker and Tyson Thompson, 34.25, $33,200.

#10 U.S. Invitational

Average: 1st. Jody York and Clay Keller, 37.79, $47,500. 2nd. Junior Hernandez and Rene Cervantes, 41.74, $30,000. 3rd. J.C. York and Tyler Boyd, 46.74, $20,500. 4th. Jerry Bailey and John Coltharp, 50.01, $17,400. 5th. Peg Williams and Jim Williams, 50.55, $14,000.

Incentive: 1st. Ben Lolley and Tommy Russell, 27.57, $8,000. 2nd. Donnie Leflett and Bobby Leflett, 28.83, $6,000. 3rd. Cliff Wheeler and Mitch Copps, 30.46, $5,000. 4th. Jim Rogers and Eric Strick, 31.26, $4,000.

#10 Preliminary

Average: 1st. Tanner Leflett and Mason Pitts, 33.09, $25,100. 2nd. Darryl Pardue and Laramie Allen, 34.06, $15,700. 3rd. Lane Sikes and Mark Collins, 34.42, $12,500. 4th. Jordan Parsley and Colton Brittian, 36.07, $10,500. 5th. John Opela and Ty Spickelmier, 36.34, $9,400.

#10 Shoot-Out

Average: 1st. Taylor Morgan and Heath Sanders, 34.81, $121,000. 2nd. Shawn Rodenberger and Rex Hawkins, 36.69, $69,400. 3rd. John K. Hudgens and Jorge Hawkins Whetten, 36.72, $55,500. 4th. Bruce Barnett and Jeff Kenslow, 37.31, $41,600. 5th. Kobie Wood and Bill Dickerson, 37.45, $37,000.

#9 Preliminary

Average: 1st. Sanford King and Clay Mitchell, 37.52, $24,400. 2nd. Max Louderback and Clay Louderback, 37.79, $15,300. 3rd. Butchie Levell and Logan Lucy, 39.58, $12,200. 4th. Wade Beckham and Brad Beckham, 39.66, $10,200. 5th. Kolton Dowell and Steve Horne, 40.03, $9,200.

#9 Shoot-out

Average: 1st. Jace Baker and David Perry, 34.08, $126,300. 2nd. Kyle W. Miller and Garrett Reed, 34.38, $72,700. 3rd. Jose Royo and Joel Hernandez, 35.39, $58,100. 4th. Cameron Jones and Matt Peterson, 36.3, $43,600. 5th. Harvey Hohenberger and Blake Hohenberger, 36.8, $38,800.

#8 Shoot-out

Average: 1st. Luke Maguire and Tyler Manion, 39.48, $40,800. 2nd. Shane Saia and Tyrel McClintock, 39.76, $25,500. 3rd. Eddie Pena and Gerardo Montemayor, 42.1, $20,400. 4th. Dalton Schubert and Garner Holcomb, 43.22, $15,200. 5th. Coleman Harmon and Logan McNeill, 44.11, $13,500. For complete results go to www.ustrc.com

#15 Shoot-Out winners Cole Wheeler and Douglas Rich. (Allen’s Rodeo Photos)

#13 Shoot-Out winners Sam Livingston and Calvin Taylor. (Allen’s Rodeo Photos)