ALVA, Okla. – On paper, Nathan Duvall didn't think he had much of a chance. It might be a good thing his skin is thicker than that. He stopped the clock in 3.8 seconds during Sunday's championship round of the Fort Scott Community College rodeo to not only win the day but also the steer wrestling title in southeast Kansas.
"I thought I was out of it, so I took a start," said Duvall, a junior at Northwestern Oklahoma State University from Henryetta, Oklahoma. "I drew a steer that they hadn't done any good on him. I watched video, and he looked like he had a lot of action."
It all went back to the beginning. Steers – and all timed-event cattle – are given a head start. Contestants must begin behind a barrier line that is only tripped when the animal has the correct advantage. If a cowboy or cowgirl leaves too early, the barrier will break resulting in a 10-second penalty. Timing it perfectly means the chest of the horse hits the barrier at the same time it releases.
That's where Duvall was Sunday afternoon.
"I was pretty into it," he said with a laugh. "That steer did have a lot of action."
The combination made for the fastest time of the rodeo. It made up some serious time. Of the 12 bulldoggers in the short go-round, Duvall's 6.0-second run in the first round was the slowest. By making such a quick second run, he blew past all the others into the top spot. Right behind him, though, were sophomore Tydon Tsosie of Crownpoint, New Mexico, and graduate student Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa.
Tsosie was the runner-up in the opener with a 4.7 and finished third in the final round to place second overall, while Edler's 4.7-second run in the short run helped him to second in the round and third in the aggregate.
"All of us bulldoggers showed out," Duvall said, pointing out that 16 Northwestern contestants made up 17 positions in the championship round.
Proof was in the field. Half the steer wrestlers in the short round were Rangers. Grady Aasby of Highmore, South Dakota, and Sam Daly of Tryon, Nebraska, placed in the first go-round but failed to record times on their second steers. Hazen Sparks of Talihina, Oklahoma, was also in the final round.
"We were there to take their money," Duvall said. "We've been having really good practices, and everybody's been showing up and lifting each other up. That helps out a lot."
Sparks gathered points by winning the first round of tie-down roping. Carter Anderson of Merriman, Nebraska, was fifth in the first round and sixth overall.
Team roping heelers Sage Bader of Kim, Colorado, and Colter Snook of Ford, Kansas, placed in the opener. Bader, who roped with Mattox Moyer of Oklahoma State University, won the first round after posting a 6.0-second run. Snook finished sixth with a 7.8-second run roping with Dexton Hoelting of Western Oklahoma State College. Saddle bronc rider Riley Smith of Poteau, Oklahoma, also made the final round for the Rangers.
Northwestern was fourth in the men's team race, while the women's team finished third overall. Breakaway roper Kinlyn Yadon of Otterkein, Indiana, led the way for the Rangers women; she won the short round with a 2.4-second run and moved up to second in the aggregate. Bleu Hall of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, finished fourth in both rounds and the average. Sarah Pita of Middle Grove, New York, and Y'Leigh Yarbrough of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, joined their teammates in Sunday's round.
Goat-tier Payton Dingman padded her lead in the Central Plains Region standings. Dingman, a sophomore from Pryor, Oklahoma, placed fourth in both go-rounds and finished third overall. Tyra Tsosie of Crownpoint capitalized on two solid runs to finish sixth in both the short round and the aggregate.
Like Dingman, Duvall increased his lead in the standings. He entered the competition in Fort Scott as the top dog, then added 120 points to his resume. He has accumulated 610 points and holds a 245-point lead over Edler, the No. 2 man, with four events remaining on the schedule. With each opportunity, Duvall will continue to lean on his primary partner, Turnpike, an 11-year-old palomino gelding that he acquired from his cousin, four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Riley Duvall.
"I took him to his first rodeo," Nathan Duvall said. "He taught me a lot from teaching him. We've just been made for each other."
The Rangers return to action the final weekend of March, then will have four rodeos in five weeks. A season ago, Duvall placed in the final four rodeos while competing at Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma, and earned his spot at the College National Finals Rodeo.
"My goal is to win the region," he said. "That's the reason I came back to college. Last year, I ended up fourth (at the college finals,), so I want to do better than I did last year."
Striving for excellence is a winning formula.