BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Two of the hottest heelers in the World happen, Levi Lord and Buddy Hawkins, happen to be No. 1 and 2 in the World Standings.
With 100 Rodeos in 100 Days ahead, their battle for the top spot will intensify as Jake Long, Douglas Rich, and Coleby Payne chase them.
No. 1 Levi Lord, $81,860
After finishing with 21 Go-Round Wins a year ago, Lord and partner Dustin Egusquiza already have 13 in 2024. Three of those have come in the form of rodeo wins in June, which they have done with times of 3.7, 4.0 and 4.5 seconds.
No. 2 Buddy Hawkins, $81,158
Hawkins moved with a few hundred dollars of Lord with two wins and a second place finish over the last two weekends. The highest paying of those was $2,200 courtesy of a 4.3-second run at the Wild West Rodeo (Oklahoma)
No. 3 Jake Long, $70,009
Long is up at the Crooked River Rodeo this weekend which is her first rodeo in two months. Last time we saw him and partner Clint Summers, they won the San Angelo Cinch Chute Out with a 4.2-second run.
No. 4 Douglas Rich, $59,847
Rich will likely have more money before July ($59,848) than he had each of the last two seasons ($62,164 in 2023 and $61,970 and 2022). He has made about $10,000 since June 5.
No. 5 Coleby Payne, $59,028
Roping with nine-time NFR qualifier Clay Smith, Payne has a great shot to make his first NFR. The pair has won more than $6,000 since June 5, they have won five checks of more than $1,000 with a win at the Mackay Rodeo (Idaho) and a second place finish at the Woodward Elks Rodeo (Oklahoma) along the way.
No. 6 Colter Todd, $51,657
Todd and partner Colter Todd have competed at just one rodeo since finishing fifth in the Average at Guymon Pioneer Days (Oklahoma) on May 5.
No. 7 Kaden Profili, $49,633
Profili has competed three times in June and won three checks with runs of 4.7, 5.8 and 5.2 seconds. All totaled, it was $2,953.
No. 8 Wesley Thorp, $43,626
Thorp and partner Tyler Wade did not win a check between April 28-June 5 but just picked up $2,093 at the Coleman PRCA Rodeo (Texas). Last year, the pair won $135,000 during 100 Rodeos in 100 Days.
No. 9 Junior Nogueira, $43,397
Nogueira has won two checks since the beginning of May, a second place finish at the Liberty Hill Pro Rodeo (Texas) and a win at the PPCLA PRCA Rodeo (Texas). He entered the 2023 NFR No. 2 in the World with $160,145.
No. 10 Trey Yates, $43,254
During the second weekend of June, Yates and Jake Clay won the Woodward Elks Rodeo (Oklahoma) and the Ute Mountain Round-Up (Colorado) with runs of 4.6 and 4.4 seconds.
No. 11 Hunter Koch, $39,279
Since May 18, Koch has run gotten paid more than $2,000 for all three of his runs of 5.2 seconds or faster.
No. 12 Tanner Braden, $39,181
Braden has finished Top 4 in three of the last five rodeos he has competed in. He and partner Jake Clay also won the Will Rogers Stampede (Oklahoma) with a 3.9-second run.
No. 13 Ross Ashford, $38,315
Ashford won $3,556 with a 5.2-second at the Livermore Rodeo (California). He and partner Coy Rahlmann have also picked up three smaller checks this month at Rodeo Celina (Texas), the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo (Texas), Ute Mountain Round-Up (Colorado).
No. 14 Wyatt Cox, $38,140
A pair of second place finishes the Weekend of June 9 won him almost $7,000. Since April 19, he has won a check on more than half of his runs.
No. 15 Cole Curry, $37,388
Since finishing second at the San Angelo Cinch Chute-Out on April 20, Curry has competed in just two rodeos.
No. 16 Jonathan Torres, $36,898
The Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo, the last Playoff event before 100 Rodeos in 100 Days, went to Torres and partner Nelson Wyatt with a 4.4-second run. That paid $4,000 and the weekend prior, they won $5,800 across three rodeos.
No. 17 Logan Medlin, $35,259
Medlin and partner Coleman Proctor have won $1,600 or more at four rodeos since June 5, they’ve competed in seven.
No. 18 Sid Sporer, $30,455
Sporer has competed in just three ProRodeos since March 18.
No. 19 Kollin VonAhn, $29,978
VonAhn and partner Andrew Ward won $3,600 for runs of 4.2 and 4.6 seconds during the first weekend of June.
No. 20 Travis Graves, $29,694
Graves took fourth in PRCA Playoff Series Rodeos each of the last two weekends, the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo and Woodward Elks Rodeo.
Standings via ProRodeo.com are accurate as of Thursday, June 20 at 5 PM ET.
