National Western Stock Show Bracket 3 Break Arena Records and Advance World Champions

The action in the rodeo arena at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo has been hot despite the frigid temperatures outside. Athletes have had to battle below zero wind chills outside, but when they got inside the coliseum, their performances were sizzling.
Bracket 3 brought incredible talent to the arena while breaking arena records and advancing world champions.
While the scores in the bareback riding haven't been extremely high, the athletes are still taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Four-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier, Mason Clements topped the bracket with 163.0 points on two head. He was followed by three-time World Champion cowboy Tim O'Connell with 154.0 points on two.
There was a tie for the third advancing position between Cooper Filipek and Mason Yancy. Interestingly both contestants scored exactly the same in both rounds. Both cowboys were 72-points in Round 1 and then followed that with 80-point rides in Round 2. Going back to the ground rules, the tie-breaker would then become the World Standings from 2024. Neither cowboy was ranked in the top 50 so as of the time of publishing it is unclear which cowboy will advance.
The steers have been strong and hard to handle in the steer wrestling action so far. They couldn't best Nick Guy though. He put together two runs totaling 9.2 on two to earn the top spot of his bracket. Local cowboy Gage Hesse from Keenesburg, Colo. drew loud roars from the crowd and he performed well to their delight. He took the second place position to advance to the semi-finals with his 10.0-second total. Finally Kalane Anders from Bayard, Nebr. took the final advancing position after he threw his two steers in 12.3-seconds.
The athletes that have struggled the most in the arena so far are the team ropers. Literally if it could go wrong, it has for them. For instance in the second round of Bracket 3 there were only three teams that had clean runs. The team of Kolby Krieger and Michael Fortenberry put together two great runs to take the win. They bested the field by more than 5-seconds on two head with their 10.5 aggregate time. Following them in the second advancing position was the team of Curry Kirchner and Tyler McKnight at 15.8. Taking the final spot was Josh Kurfiss and Joey Menegatti with an 18.0 total.
The saddle bronc riding saw some hard bucking horses paired with some who took the day off. No doubt the freezing weather conditions probably affects their attitude at times. Who can blame them? Regardless the cowboys came to ride. Zac Dallas bested the field and he took home the top position at 164.5 points. McArthur, Cali. cowboy Bailey Small gathered 163.5 points on two to earn the second position while fellow California cowboy Jasper Frost earned the final position with his 160.0 points.
Surprisingly Stetson Wright made an appearance in the saddle bronc but didn't necessarily draw the horses he needed to advance. So while the crowd got to witness one of the best cowboys to ever ride in the saddle bronc, they won't see him in the semi-finals.
The tie-down ropers were hot and the compeition was fierce. The fastest times seen so far occurred in this bracket. Riley Pruitt looks to be solid and ready to roll into the 2025 season. He was a smoking 15.9 seconds total on two. His 7.5-second run in Round 2 is the fastest recorded so far and obviously put him right on top of the leaderboard. Pairing that with his 8.4-second run in Round 1 and the crowd got to see some stellar roping. Liberty, Texas man Cash Enderli followed not far behind at 16.3 seconds and will get the opportunity to rope in the semi's. The third position was filled by Bryce Derrer with a 17.3-second total on two.
The crowd certainly got their ticket value when they witnessed the barrel race. Sharin Hall and her incredible mare Hello Stella set the new arena record in Round 1 with a smoking 14.48-second run. The $1 million duo came back to also take the win in Round 2 with a 14.74. Hall posted the fastest time on two of the entire rodeo with her 29.22 aggregate. In total there were five ladies that all clocked under the 15-second mark in Round 2 of this bracket.
Following an amazing performance in San Diego, Jordan Driver changed colors of horses at Denver when she came running through the gate on a grey horse. The results were the same, she won. She earned the second qualifying position at 29.75 seconds.
There was a tie for the last position to advance between Cassidy Deen and Ilyssa Riley. The ground rules state that the contestant who posts the fastes time in the rounds will be the one who advances. Deen outran Riley in the second round by posting a 14.92 versus Riley's 14.97. In Round 1 Deen was a 15.08 while Riley was 15.03. So following the rules, Deen will advance with her round two time.
The bulls definitely had the upper hand in this bracket with only one man riding two. Patterson Starcher from Fort Scott, Kansas rode his two head for 166.0 points and clearly took the win in the bracket. Looking further there were only two other men who rode one bull and earned the advancement. Luke Mast and Dillon Tyner will both get another opportunity to show their talents in the semi-finals competition.