Kyle Irwin had one feeling after stopping the clock at 3.7 seconds to win Round 5 of steer wrestling at NFR. Relief.
“It’s a huge relief,” he said. “We do this to win gold buckles and averages, but I came here to win as much money as I could because that’s how I make a living for my family. So, $26,000 and change is great and I just hope to build off this momentum.”
Irwin had the same steer Tyler Waguespack won Round 3 and felt like he had one of the best in the pen. He also got an added boost after seeing the night’s second-place finisher Dakota Eldridge notch a run of 4 seconds two guys before him.
“I like to see that, it makes it fun and gets your heart beating and blood pumping. That’s what we want,” he said.
Riley Duvall, Hunter Cure and Will Lummus rounded out the Top 5 for Monday’s go-round. All of their runs were sub-4.7.
Ty Erickson and Hunter Cure remain in first and second place in the world standings.
Steer Wrestling World Standings (NFR money in parentheses)
1. Ty Erickson - $174,273 ($28,192)
2. Hunter Cure - $158,567 ($54,000)
3. Tyler Waguespack - $151,694 ($54,564)
4. J.D. Struxness - $145,149 ($62,230)
5. Bridger Chambers - $140,784 ($61,756)