LAS VEGAS — Former Montana State University cowboy Jesse Brown ended the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in style Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Brown, from Baker City, Ore., clocked the fastest time of this year's NFR at 3.4 seconds to notch his third round win in the steer wrestling. The time gave Brown the Round 10 win and a check of $33,687, which brought his season total to $258,553, good enough for sixth place in the world standings.
Brown also won the fifth round and tied for the seventh-round win earlier this week.
J.D. Struxness was second in Round 10 with a time of 3.6 seconds, which helped him just edge Will Lummus for the world championship. Struxness, of Milan, Minn., finished with $309,220 to Lummus' $307,713.
Helena bulldogger Ty Erickson tied for seventh and out of the money with a 4.3 time.
In the bareback, Columbus' Weston Timberman closed out his first NFR with another paycheck, riding to a third-place finish in Round 10. The Resistol rookie of the year marked an 88-point ride atop Damn Straight of J Bar J out of Brockway. Timberman finished seventh in the world standings with $292,509.
J Bar J also had the second-place horse on Saturday, with Straight Stick helping Dean Thompson of Altamont, Utah, to an 88.5-point ride and $26,624 check, which vaulted him to the world No. 1 ranking.
Leighton Berry, of Weatherford, Texas, scored a 91 on Boot Barn's Night Crawler of Pickett Pro Rodeo Company to win the round.
Stevensville's Richmond Champion placed 11th in Round 10 with an 83.5-point ride aboard Pickett Pro Rodeo Company's Top Notch. Champion finished 13th in the world standings.
In Round 10 of the saddle bronc, Melstone's Sage Newman finished in a four-way tie alongside Zeke Thurston, Brody Wells and Statler Wright for sixth with an 86.5-point ride. Newman's ride came on Dandy Delight from Calgary Stampede.
Ryder Wright of Beaver, Utah, and Lefty Holman of Visalia, Calif., split first place in the go with 89.5-point rides, as Wright secured the world title with $479,957 on the season.
Miles City's Haven Meged finally saw his hot streak come to an end. After earning checks five consecutive nights, Meged placed 11th with a 10.7-second time in Round 10 of the tie-down roping. Meged still finished third in the world standings with $387,791.
Texan Dylan Hancock took first place in Round 10 with a 7.0-second run, and Riley Mason Webb, of Denton, Texas, won the world championship with $475,214 on the season.
Meanwhile, Circle-area native Lisa Lockhart, now of Oelrichs, S.D., finished outside the money in the barrel racing with an 18.36-second run to place 11th.
Oklahoma's Emily Beisel won the round with a 13.51-second run.
The 10th round of bull riding saw just one rider — Hayes Wright of Goshen, Utah, atop Frontier Rodeo's Misunderstood — mark a score. Wright put together an 87.5-point ride and pocketed $108,668. That moved him all the way up to second in the world standings with $400,061.
Josh Frist claimed the world title with $476,887, while Chase Dougherty, a former Montana State cowboy from Canby, Ore., finished 13th in the world standings with $196,204.
Andrew Ward of Edmond, Okla., and Kollin VonAhn of Blanchard, Oklah., won the 10th-round team roping with a time of 3.5 seconds.
Tyler Wade of Terrell, Texas, finished as the world champion header and Wesley Thorp of Throckmorton, Texas, as the No. 1 heeler.
