BY DARRELL MOODY
Appeal Sports Writer
RENO " Jesse Kruse sank to his knees in the chute area and said a prayer of thanks toward the end of the saddle bronc competition Friday night.
No doubt Kruse was thankful he'd been granted a re-ride. He took advantage of his second chance to score an 86 and move into a first-place tie with Jake Hayworth at the 89th annual Reno Rodeo at the Reno Livestock Events Center.
The finals are set for today at 7 p.m. (Channel 8). The top 12 finishers in each event will be in the arena.
The only local cowboy to reach the finals was Fallon's Sterling Lambert, whose two-run time of 10.4 seconds in steer wrestling was good enough for the last qualifying spot.
The news wasn't so good for the rest of the local contingent in action Friday night.
Fallon steer wrestler Chad Edgmon was fourth on the night in steer wrestling at 6.6. Washoe Valley's Lita Scott was fifth in barrel racing with an 18.81 for a two-ride total of 36.50.
Team ropers Garrett Smith and Matt Hussman failed to post a score and Fallon's Neil Howard was second on the night in tie-down roping with an 11.6 and 31.20 overall. Barrel racer Marvel Murphy-Selvester failed to post a score.
"We didn't have the right steer," Hussman said. "People told us he would run. He ran, but not that hard."
Hayworth and Kruse are tied for first at 169. Anthony Bello is third followed by Chad Ferley at 165 and Billy Etbauer, Jesse Bail and J.J. Elshere are tied for fifth at 163. Anybody in the top five has a good shot to win tonight.
"I think it was 67," said Kruse, referring to his second ride which earned him the re-ride option. "That was a good re-ride. I couldn't ask for anything more. I've done pretty good this season. I've pulled a check almost every week, but I hadn't won anything the last two weeks."
In bareback, Oregon's Bobby Mote put together an 84-point road aboard Classic Times to get to 170, which was good enough to tie Jared Smith for first place. Mote had predicted the horse would give up at least an 80-point ride.
Will Lowe is third at 165, while Tim Shirley, Chris Harris and Royce Ford are tied for fourth at 164. Six of the 12 finalists came from the last pool of riders.
"He [Classic Times] had a good day," Mote said. "He took a little run and then jumped and kicked. I just tried to do my part. I was blessed with two good horses. That's the hardest part getting a good horse. Everybody rides great."
Mote has won a couple of world titles, but never a set of spurs from the Reno Rodeo. Obviously, he'd like to rectify that.
"It's the biggest thing I can do this week," Mote said. "I haven't won anything big lately. It would be big."
Ford, a third-generation cowboy from Colorado, has been a fixture here. He put together rides of 80 and 84. He's a guy to watch out for tonight.
"I usually make it to the short round," Ford said. "This was a good set of horses the last two nights. Everybody had a chance to win. That's all you can ask for."
Bulls once again dominated, as only one rider, Matt Clemons stayed on for eight seconds. However, his 78 wasn't enough to reach the finals.
"A friend told me a little bit, but he didn't do anything he said he would," Clemons said.
Fred Boettcher, Sonny Murphy and Clayton Foltyn tied for the top spot with a 90.
There was one tense moment in the bulls competition when Tyrel Curtis was thrown and landed awkwardly. The bull lifted him and tossed him despite efforts by bullfighters Rowdy Barry and Tim O'Connor.
Allie Hamner clocked the best time on Friday in barrel racing at 17.40, but it wasn't enough to get her into the finals. Mary Burger leads the way with a 34.02 followed by Jill Moody at 34.50 and Tammy Key-Fischer at 34.54.
Jason Miller leads steer wrestlers with a 7.7 on two attempts. He's followed by Stockton Graves and Wade Sumpter at 8.3 and Cash Myers at 9.0.
Matt Sherwood and Brandon Adams lead the team ropers at 11.6 followed by Jake and Jim Ross Cooper at 11.8. Ty Blasingame and Ryon Tittel are third at 11.9. Cesar de la Cruz and Colter Todd had the night's best time of 4.0.
Josh Peek and Curtis Cassidy (18.5) lead the tie-down roping. Veteran Monty Lewis was at 18.9 and Tim Pharr was at 19.1. Seth Hopper had the night's best time at 10.30, but he failed to move on.
- Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or (775) 881-1281