Ellensburg Rodeo Highlights Holiday Weekend Going Into Final Month of Season

The clock is winding down on the regular season for this year's NFR hopefuls.

Garett Chick and Ross Ashford team rope during the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo matinee show Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at Foster Communications Coliseum. San Angelo Stock Show Rodeo Sunday Feb 10 2019 | Yfat Yossifor / San Angelo Standard-Times

One of the last multiple-round rodeos, that isn't extremely limited, just wrapped up Ellensburg, Washington. Ellensburg is one of the best that the Northwest run has to offer as contestants make their final push into the NFR, and top-40, as they try to qualify into the big winter rodeos for next season.

This year was highlighted by a few who sit near the top-15 line and are fighting to get to the Thomas and Mack in December.

Even though it might seem like these professionals are running out of time to cross the line into the top-15, that is further from the truth. There is an entire month of rodeo left with thousands of miles left to be travelled and many important runs to be made.

Big Winners Near the Bubble

The eye catcher from the results, in terms of athletes trying to find their way to Las Vegas, is in the barrel racing, specifically Summer Kosel and Katelyn Scott. Prior to Labor Day weekend the pair were less than $20 apart at No.17 and No.18 in the world (per WPRA).

Kosel will overthrow Scott in the world standings as she was the big winner on the weekend, with a near $10,500 win out of Ellensburg alone. She finished no worse than fourth.

But Scott was right with her and was the bronze winner after running the fastest time of the rodeo in round two and one of three 16-second runs of the entire rodeo.

By the end of her three runs, she brought in nearly $7,000. Going into this weekend, the pair were both exactly $15,000 outside of the top-15They will be right there once the new totals are tallied.

A pair of team ropers even closer to the top 15 made their mark in Washington. J.C. Yeahquo and Ross Ashford might not have placed in the first round, but their second-place finish in round two was the worst they did the rest of the rodeo. Per the PRCA the team now finds themselves right near that bottom spot. Yeahquo is now No.17 in the world and almost exactly $5,000 out of where he wants to be. Ashford is a little further out ($7,000) after the pair won a near $11,000 out of this rodeo.

Cole Clemons has his work cutout for him if he wants to use this momentum to get him to the NFR in the tie-down roping. No one roper dominated through and through, but Clemons was consistent enough that he took home the average win and $10,720, but still finds himself a near 20k behind the No.15 man.

The season is far from over, but these athletes will need every dollar possible down the stretch. This year's NFR is going to be a tough one to get to, but there is still time and it will be fun to watch these last few weeks.