What Lies Ahead for Steer Wrestlers at Governor's Cup?

In just one week Sioux Falls, SD is going to be packed full of rodeo athletes and fans alike. The prestigious Governor's Cup is what the athletes participating in the Cinch Playoff series have been working towards.

The steer wresters have been battling it out all year to flip their steers fast enough to win first place checks and get a spot in the top-15 in the world standings.

Below are the Steer Wrestlers that entered Sioux Falls as well as their current positions and earnings in the standings just weeks away from the deadline for NFR qualifications.

Steer Wrestling

Dalton Massey, 1st in the World, $185,887
Tyler Waguespack, 2nd in the World, $145,542
Jesse Brown, 3rd in the World, $136,613
Ty Erickson, 4th in the World, $117,969
Dakota Eldridge, 5th in the World, $115,887
Will Lummus, 6th in the World, $114,828
JD Struxness, 7th in the World, $109,237
Stephen Culling, 10th in the World, $100,667
Cody Devers, 11th in the World, $96,606
Nick Guy, 14th in the World, $82,111
Tristan Martin, 24th in the World, $61,613
Kyler Dick, 34th in the World, $50,407

It sounds like a stretch but even 34th place, Kyler Dick, has a chance to squeeze into one of those top-15 spots. He may be over $30,000 behind and has to have near perfect days at the Cinch Playoffs, but it is still within reach.

Each event will pay out $100,000 total over multiple rounds.

Below is a look at how the Cinch Playoffs are structured:

Thursday and Friday- Rounds 1 & 2

$10,000
$7,500
$5,000
$2,500

Times from round one and two will be averaged and then the top eight athletes will move on to a clean-slate round. The top-four from that round will then move on to the final round on Saturday.

Saturday-Final Round

$25,000
$19,000
$12,000
$6,000

This incredible sum of money the athletes are able to win this close to the cut off for qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo is a huge game changer.