Gray, Durfey cash in during NFR 3rd round

LAS VEGAS – Local competitors Ryan Gray of Cheney and Tyson Durfey of Colbert finished in the money in the third round of the National Finals Rodeo Friday night.

Gray was third in bareback riding with a score of 86 on Sure Motion to win $9,784. His placing moved him up to 13th in the average with 238.5 points.

Durfey was sixth in 9.1 seconds in tie-down roping and earned $2,644. He stands at sixth in the average at 29.8 seconds.

Justin McDaniel broke the NFR and Thomas & Mack Center arena bareback record night with a 91.5-point ride on Delta Ship in the third round of the season-ending event.

McDaniel, from Porum, Okla., broke the record of 91 set by Will Lowe in 2002 on Big Bear Sign Dip. With the career-best ride, McDaniel moved into second place in the PRCA season standings with $122,595. Bobby Mote of Culver, Ore., leads with $152,183.

“I can hardly believe that, and it hasn’t quite set in yet,” said McDaniel, making his first NFR appearance.

“It’s pretty awesome. There’s no better feeling than to set a record, especially at the National Finals for (the) first time. It’s a very cool feeling.”

In tie-down roping, Hunter Herrin of Apache, Okla., placed first with a time of 7.7. Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, fourth with a time of 8.2, tops the PRCA standings with $143,645. Herrin was second at $124,992.

The earnings also allowed Brazile to increase his first-place total in all-around to $309,474 – about $148,600 ahead of runner-up Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo.

In steer wrestling, Jason Miller of Lance Creek, Wyo., won in 4.0 seconds.

With three top-six finishes in three rounds, Miller took over the event lead with an aggregate time of 11.4.

“I came in pretty low, so in order to have any chance at all, I need to start winning as much money as I can,” Miller said.

In bull riding, Howdy Cloud of Kountze, Texas, won with a 90 on God’s Gift. B.J. Schumacher of Hillsboro, Wis., the PRCA standings leader and defending champion, finished third with an 87 on California Dreamin’ and increased his first-place total to $181,492.

In team roping, Clay Tryan of Billings, Mont., and Walt Woodard of Stockton, Calif., finished first in a time of 4.8.

In saddle bronc riding, NFR rookie Justin Arnold of Santa Margarita, Calif., notched his first win with an 86.5-point ride on Kool Toddy, out of Big Bend a Ritzville rodeo company.

In barrel racing, Lisa Lockhart of Oelrichs, S.D., won in 13.89 seconds. She was closely challenged by second-round winner Lindsay Sears of Canada, who finished with a 13.90. Lockhart has finished among the top three in all three rounds.