Rookie Roundup Rewind: Tom Crouse Stays Hustling in the Arena

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STEVE WRUBEL

Tom Crouse took home the inaugural Resistol Rookie Roundup Tie-Down Roping title and since then, the Missouri cowboy has continued to impress in professional rodeo.

He carried the momentum from Cowtown Coliseum into Kansas City for the American Royal. Crouse stopped the clock at 8.4 seconds there to finish third before going on to Claremore, Oklahoma. There he placed second at the Will Rogers Stampede and added another almost $2,500 to his 2022 season earnings. At the Greeley Stampede, Crouse placed fifth in both Round 2 and the Finals to finish fourth in the average. Overall, he added over $6,000 to his name in Colorado.

Success then found him in Vernal, Utah at the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo and in Gunnison, Colorado at the Cattlemen’s Days. His July ended with a big payday at California Rodeo Salinas where he picked up a check for $4,372. The Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo added $3,600 before he had a good swing in the northwest. He rounded out his rookie season with two paydays, one in Utah and one in Washington. Crouse was ranked inside the Top 50 in the PRCA World Standings at the end of 2022.

Crouse’s 2023 season started right at the Permit Finals in Waco, Texas. Consistency was key for the calf roper landing him No. 1 in the average and kicking the season off with over $2,500. The success continued at the Permit Members of the Year Challenge and then the National Western qualifier. Of the Texas Swing, Crouse would pull a go-round check at Fort Worth and San Antonio. It would be small rodeos in Nacogdoches and Waxahachie, Texas that would add another $2,800 to his 2023 season earnings before success came his way again in California. At the Red Bluff Round-Up, Crouse placed in Round 3, the Finals and the average to cash in $6,600.

Although Crouse is currently unranked, he has caught a wave of momentum and there is plenty of money left to be won all across the country this season.