Lee Graves earns his second consecutive victory

Graves gets another win

LAS VEGAS — Lee Graves earned his second consecutive victory during the fifth round at the National Finals Rodeo that allowed him to take over first place in every key steer wrestling category on Monday.

Graves of Calgary, Alberta, extended his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings lead with his win, finishing in 3.5 seconds.

Graves is in first place with $165,795 in total earnings. Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif., is second with $148,214. Jake Rinehart of Highmore, S.D., is third with $142,511 followed by Curtis Cassidy of Canada with $118,604.

“I had a setback in round two; I had a back injury that scared me pretty bad,” Graves said. “I really didn’t think I’d be able to compete at my 100 percent best, but I’ve turned it around the last couple days, spent a lot of time icing and stretching, and we’re back on track.”

In bareback riding, Jared Smith of Cross Plains, Texas and Bobby Mote of Culver, Ore., tied for first place on Citation and Delta Ship, respectively, and posted the highest scores at this year’s NFR.

Clint Cannon of Waller, Texas, who set a PRCA record in 2009 for most regular-season money won in any event with $233,504, did not place among the top six for a fourth straight round, but he continues to lead the PRCA World Standings with $235,899.

Kaycee Feild of Elk Ridge, Utah, who continues to lead the aggregate score race with 427 points on five head, didn’t place among the top six in the fifth round.

In team roping, header Riley Minor and heeler Brady Minor, who are brothers from Ellensburg, Wash., placed first during round five.

“It’s pretty easy,” Brady Minor said. “We can talk to each other a lot easier than if we were roping with anybody else. If one of us misses for the other, we know that they are trying as hard as they can. It’s easier for me than roping with anybody else.”

Heeler Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev., who didn’t record a time during round five, stayed in the lead with $121,042, and header Luke Brown of Rock Hill, S.C., who didn’t place among the top six, leads with $133,086.

In tie-down roping, six-time world champion Cody Ohl of Hico, Texas, placed first for his second straight round. He recorded a time of 7.1 and tied for first place with Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas.

In saddle bronc riding, J.J. Elshere of Quinn, S.D., won the fifth round and registered his second NFR win with an 88 on Kool Toddy.

PRCA standings leader Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, Mont., placed fifth with an 85 on Car Power.

In barrel racing, Sherry Cervi of Marana, Ariz., won her second NFR round with a time of 13.60 while defending world champ Lindsay Sears of Canada, placed second in 13.62 and remains in first place in the aggregate race with a time of 69.48 over five rounds.

Sears, who has earned $58,882 over five rounds, leads in NFR earnings while Cervi is second with $54,735 and Brittany Pozzi of Victoria, Texas, is third with $54,459. Pozzi, who placed third with a time of 14.06 in round five, is first in the world standings with $210,324 while Sears is second with $200,100.

In bull riding, the 15 competitors were unable to cover on their bulls during round five, which is the first time this has happened at the NFR since the sixth round in 1997.

Bobby Welsh of Gillette, Wyo., who is the lone rider to cover four of his five bulls, leads the aggregate race with 315 points, but he trails defending champion J.W. Harris of May, Texas, by $85,838 in the world standings.

Harris competed during round five after missing the third and fourth rounds due to a spiral fracture of his right (riding) hand suffered when Bring It bucked him off in round two.

In all-around, Brazile has $311,118 and remains in first place during his quest for his seventh world title. Robinson is second with $181,915 and Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo., is third with $174,759.