Kathy Grimes, Tyson Durfey off to strong starts at National Finals Rodeo

Kathy Grimes, of Medical Lake, took ninth in the second round of the barrel racing event with a ride of 13.90 seconds at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas on Friday.

Grimes finished fourth in Thursday’s first round to earn $11,000 and moved her to fifth in the 2017 world standings with $132,000 in total winnings this year.

The WNFR is a 10-day event and ends on Dec. 16. Participants compete in their respective events every night for 10 consecutive days.

Grimes will compete again Saturday night.

Grimes is a first-time competitor in the WNFR. Ahead of the PRCA season finale this week, the 52-year-old also won the Omak Stampede in the beginning of August and finished second in the Gem State Stampede at the North Idaho State Fair later that month.

This year, she also took second at RodeoHouston, San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo, Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo, and the Wrangler Champions Challenge in Grand Island, Nebraska.

On the men’s side, reigning world champion tie-down roper and former Colbert resident Tyson Durfey took fifth place in the second round of the tie-down roping event with a time of 8.80 seconds. Durfey earned $6,769 with the result, one night after placing ninth in the opening-round of the event.

Durfey, who now resides Weatherford, Texas, qualified for the WNFR this year for the 10th time in 11 years. Last year, he placed first in the world tie-down roping standings, bringing home more than $200,000 in winnings for the year.

The 34-year-old has become a tie-down roping veteran in the last decade. He has put together a trio of Canadian titles (2006, 2008 and 2011) and regularly visits the Pacific Northwest for rodeo competitions.

Durfey was named the co-champion of the Spokane Interstate Rodeo in September and shared the title at Moses Lake last year. He has consistently competed in the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo and won in 2013.