BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Every event in San Antonio had four athletes from five brackets move on to form to two Semifinals, which will take place Thursday and Friday on The Cowboy Channel and The Cowboy Channel+ App.
Each Semifinal round will produce five finalists. There will also be one wild card competitor who qualifies for Saturday night’s Short Round. The cowboy with the most total money at the end of the rodeo, wins.
Cooper Martin was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. He made $7,000 in his bracket and every semifinalist in the tie-down roping earned between $5,000 and $2,500.
Here is a better look at how riding each tie-down roper made it out of their bracket.
Cooper Martin, $7,000
Cooper Martin dominated Bracket 1 by winning the first two rounds and finishing second in Round 3. Martin’s times were all between 8.1 and 9.8 seconds.
Haven Meged, $5,000
Haven Meged placed in all three rounds of Bracket 2 including two second places finishes in Rounds 1 and 3. Meged, the 2019 World Champion, is No. 3 in the world with $28,840.
Riley Pruitt, $4,500
Riley Pruitt won Bracket 3, Round 2 and was second in Round 1. He and Kincade Henry split the first in the bracket.
Kincade Henry, $4,500
Kincade Henry won Round 1 and finished second in Round 2 in Bracket 3. Henry is No. 5 in the PRCA World Standings with $23,635.
Marty Yates, $4,500
The eight-time NFR qualifier has the fastest time of the rodeo so far, a 7.6 to win Bracket 5, Round 2. He also placed second with an 8.1 in Round 1. Yates was the top cowboy in Bracket 5.
Shad Mayfield, $4,000
The 2020 World Champion won Bracket 2, Round 1 en route to a second place finish behind fellow World Champion Haven Meged. Mayfield is the No. 1 tie-down roper in the world so far this season with $34,311.
John Douch, $4,000
John Douch had two times faster than 8.5 seconds in Bracket 5. He stopped the clock at 7.9 to win Round 1 and was third in Round 3 with an 8.4. Douch finished second in the bracket behind Marty Yates.
Tyler Milligan, $3,500
Tyler Milligan is tied Marty Yates for the fastest run of the rodeo at 7.6, which he did in Bracket 1, Round 3. Milligan also placed in Round 1 of his bracket.
Chance Oftedahl, $3,500
The Minnesota cowboy placed in all three rounds in Bracket 3, but never cracked the Top 2. His times were all between 9.4 and 12.7 seconds.
Stetson Vest, $3,500
Stetson Vest placed in the Top 3 in the final two rounds of Bracket 4 to share the top spot with Matt Shiozawa.
Matt Shiozawa, $3,500
The 11-time NFR qualifier was second with a time of 9.1 seconds in Bracket 4, Round 1 and third in Round 3 with an 8.8.
Ryan Thibodeaux, $3,000
Ryan Thibodeaux finished third in the final two rounds of Bracket 1 to advance.
Cody Craig, $3,000
Cody Craig was second in Bracket 2, Round 2 and fourth in Round 3. His two placing times were 9.7 and 9.6 seconds respectively.
Luke Potter, $3,000
The 2020 Resistol Rookie of the Year was fourth in Bracket 4, Round 1 and second in Round 2 to finish right behind Stetson Vest and Matt Shiozawa.
Macon Murphy, $2,750
Macon Murphy split second in Bracket 1, Round 1 and also took fourth in Round 3 to advance as the final cowboy out of the first bracket.
Shane Hanchey, $2,500
The 13-time NFR qualifier advanced in dramatic fashion, with a win in the final round of Bracket 2. His 8.4 second run was enough to get him through.
Tanner Green, $2,500
Tanner Green only earned one check in his bracket, but it was on an impressive 7.9 second run.
Cory Solomon, $2,500
Cory Solomon advanced due to an 8.4 second run to win Bracket 4, Round 3.
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