Ty Harris ties down a calf during the 5th performance of the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, at Foster Communications Coliseum. (Photo: San Angelo Standard-Times File)
On a night when he could have made up some ground, Ty Harris failed to rope his calf for the third time in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
As three cowboys tied for the lead with 7.5-second times, Harris and three others recorded no-times in Round 8.
With two more rounds to go, the miss cost NFR first-timer Harris another spot in the PRCA world standings. After rising to second place in the standings with back-to-back round wins on Monday and Tuesday, the San Angelo cowboy now sits in fourth place in yearly winnings.
The ninth and 10th rounds are set for Friday and Saturday, where Harris hopes to catch world leader Shane Hanchey and Riley Pruitt, who remained in second worldwide after tying with Cooper Martin and Tyler Milligan for the 8th-round belt buckle.
Pruitt, from Gehring, Nebraska, has finished no lower than fourth place in the last five rounds, including three consecutive runner-up finishes. Each winner Thursday won $20,871.79.
Hanchey, from Sulphur, Louisiana, was also a victim of bad luck for the second consecutive night on Thursday, finishing just out of the top 6 spots and any prize money which could have extended his lead.
Hanchey sits at $209.927.69 while Pruitt has won $203,599.31. Milligan, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma, has won $186,307.36 while Harris sits at $173,437.91.
Haven Meged, from Miles City, Montana, and Tuf Cooper, from Decatur, remained at first and second in the average time.
Weatherford cowboy Michael Otero, the 2019 San Angelo Rodeo champion, was sixth on Thursday, in a time of 8.40.
The Wrangler NFR is broadcast on CBS Sports Network starting at 9 p.m.
For NFR Round 8 highlights: Follow WranglerNetwork.com For more information on the Wrangler NFR and Cowboy Christmas, please visit NFRexperience.com or through social media at /LasVegasNFR and use #WranglerNFR. For the latest Pro Rodeo news and how to watch Wrangler NFR, please visit NFRupdates.com or through social media at @PRCA_ProRodeo.