Nevada native Dakota Eldridge is no stranger to the big stage and with a time of 3.6 seconds he notched a Round 1 victory in steer wrestling Thursday night in Las Vegas.
Eldridge has won the average twice in his five NFR appearances in addition to nine total round wins.
“That was really one of my goals, to put the pedal down at the beginning,” he said. “This year, I just told myself I’m going to give it 100 percent and go for every round win.
The Round 1 victory rocketed Eldridge up the world standings from No. 11 all the way to No. 2.
“I’m coming from the best place you could ever come in, down toward the bottom and know you’re in contention for a world title,” he said.
Eldridge trails only Ty Erickson in the standings as Erickson benefited from entering the night with a more than $40,000 lead. His run was a 13.4, putting him in 12th for Round 1.
Bridger Chambers and JD Struxness finished on Eldridge’s heels tying for second in Round 1 with a 3.8 time. Stetson Jorgenson and Tyler Waguespack rounded out the first night’s top 5 with runs of 4.0 and 4.1 respectively.
Steer Wrestling World Standings (NFR money in parentheses)
1. Ty Erickson - $156,080 ($10,000)
2. Dakota Eldridge - $117,333 ($36,230)
3. Hunter Cure - $114,567 ($10,000)
4. Tyler Waguespack - $113,899 ($16,769)
5. Scott Guenthner - $112,750 ($10,000)