Austin clinches first world title in front of a sea of pink at the Thomas & Mack Center

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 9, 2005 – It was a sea of pink at the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night as part of Wrangler’s Tough Enough To Wear Pink initiative to raise awareness for breast cancer. The majority of the 17,765 in attendance were wearing pink items to show their support and remember those who have been affected by breast cancer.

It was also a night in which bull rider Matt Austin officially clinched the 2005 bull riding world title. Austin, of Wills Point, Texas, didn’t win the round with his 78-point ride on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Stick Marsh, but his title was official when his best friend Bryan Richardson slapped Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Sports Center before the eight-second whistle and therefore failed to post a qualified ride.

“I can’t put it into words how it feels and it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Austin of clinching the world title. “Every year, I set a goal and rodeo all year with that goal in mind, and the year I’ve had this year is a dream come true. I’ve still got a lot to prove to myself and still have two rounds left, and I’ve still got a chance to break Ty Murray’s earnings record, so I’m still going to go out there and act like I’m in second place.”

Austin, who broke the single-season earnings record in bull riding after his win at the inaugural Xtreme Bulls National Finals produced by Lazy E Productions in Reno, Nev., in October, is in striking distance of setting a new record for the highest single-year earnings in PRCA history. Ty Murray holds the record at $297,896, which was set in 1993. Murray competed in all three roughstock events to set the record.

Austin has won a total of $265,742 and still has two days of competition to go. He is currently fourth in the average race with 412 points on five head, and a fourth-place finish in the average pays $18,930.

Wesley Silcox of Payson, Utah, won the eighth round with an 86.5-point ride on Big Bend Rodeo’s Keller Special.

Ryan Jarrett of Summerville, Ga., overtook the lead in the all-around race on Thursday night and extended that lead in Round 8 by finishing fourth in the tie-down roping with an 8.0-second run. Jarrett collected a check totaling $6,563, while three-time and reigning All-Around World Champion Trevor Brazile finished with a no time.

Jarrett moved to the top of the leaderboard in the tie-down roping average race with a total time of 72.5 seconds on eight head. Jarrett took the lead from Blair Burk of Durant, Okla., who was unable to post a time in Round 8.

Tie-down roper Matt Shiozawa, who grew up in Moapa Valley, Nev., and now lives in Chubbuck, Idaho, won his second consecutive round with a time of 7.2 seconds. Shiozawa edged Stran Smith of Childress, Texas, who finished with a 7.3-second run.

“My draws are coming around, and I’m getting good calves that are proven,” Shiozawa said. “I gained some confidence after last night’s win, and I feel like my horses are performing well.”

Bareback rider Cimmaron Gerke rode Wayne Vold Rodeo’s Awesome for 87.5 points to win the eighth round. Gerke, of Fort Worth, Texas, knew he would have a chance to win the round if he could last the eight seconds on the horse that PRCA judges voted the rankest bareback horse of the fourth round after he bucked off Rowdy Buechner.

“I have never been on him before, but have seen him,” Gerke said of the horse. “He does something different every time, so I just wanted to keep weight on each side and my head in the middle and luckily it worked out for me. I was excited to have the horse, and I had a pretty good feeling I could ride him. I just needed to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes and just went at him the best I could.”

Reigning World Champion Bareback Rider Kelly Timberman holds the average lead with 669.5 points on eight head. Gerke trails him by just one-half of a point. Will Lowe is ranked first in the Jack Daniel’s World Standings with $148,887, with Ryan Gray in second with $140,607.

It was a few days coming for steer wrestler Stockton Graves, but he found himself in the winner’s circle on Friday night during the eighth round when he stopped the clock in 3.3 seconds. Graves, of Newkirk, Okla., finished just ahead of Dean Gorsuch of Gering, Neb., who posted a 3.4-second run.

“The steers have been good all week, and the guys know the steers now,” Graves said. “Tonight, every one of the guys were making good runs, and nobody made any mistakes. Tonight, I just wanted to go out and be fast, but I didn’t know I was going to have to be that fast. I guess it was just a quick little pen.”

Lee Graves of Calgary, Alberta, leads the average race with a total time of 30.3 seconds on eight head, as well as the Jack Daniel’s World Standings with $159,721. Graves has won almost as much in the eight days of the Wrangler NFR as he did the entire 2005 regular season. Graves entered the 2005 Wrangler NFR with a total of $80,003 in earnings and thus far has collected $79,718 in Las Vegas.

Eight-time world champion team ropers Speed Williams and Rich Skelton took their first trip to the winner’s circle at the 2005 Wrangler NFR on Friday night after turning in a 3.7-second run, which tied the arena record. Williams and Skelton, both of Llano, Texas, are roping together for the final time at this year’s Wrangler NFR and will be matched with different partners for the 2006 season.

“This year has been a very frustrating year for me horse-wise,” Williams said. “We kind of got things going pretty good at Dallas (Pace Classic), and my horse slipped and fell with me and hurt my knee. Then a week before we left to come to the Finals, I had another horse fall and hurt my left shoulder.

“My hamstring, calf, a lot of my body parts are not functioning well, and that was the reason I didn’t start off on my other horse, Viper. We went out of the average last night, and it’s time to roll the dice. The horse I’m riding now has had 80 runs on him here. He ducks pretty hard and doesn’t leave you much room for error. So, you’re either fast or a no time, and it worked tonight.”

Tee Woolman and Cory Petska took over the lead in the average race with a total time of 62.1 seconds on eight head. Clay Tryan leads the heading world standings with $139,187, while Kory Koontz leads the heeling standings with $142,237. Trevor Brazile, who is filling in for the injured Jake Barnes, and Koontz finished fourth in the round with a time of 4.4 seconds.

Five-time and reigning World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Billy Etbauer won his third round of the 2005 Wrangler NFR aboard Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Coffee Break. Etbauer, of Edmond, Okla., posted a score of 87.5 to win the round.

“Josh (Reynolds) had him the other day,” said Etbauer about the horse. “I knew it was a good horse, and I was worried about taking care of my end. I was just glad my rear end was in there when the whistle blew.”

Etbauer was one of the 119 contestants sporting a pink Wrangler shirt for the Tough Enough to Wear Pink night.

“I might put it in my wardrobe,” Etbuaer said. “I did really well in the same round last year. Hopefully it is helping Breast Cancer Research, and we are happy to do it.”

Canadian Rod Warren maintained his lead in the average standings with 632.5 points on eight head. Warren, of Big Valley, Alberta, is the only saddle bronc rider to have lasted the eight seconds on all of his broncs.

Jeffery Willert, of Belvidere, S.D., continues to lead the world standings with $240,561. Willert, who finished second in the round with 85 points on Bar T Rodeo’s Round Robin surpassed Glen O’Neill’s single-season earnings record in saddle bronc riding after Round 8. O’Neill won $236,031 during his 2002 world championship campaign and after Friday night’s competition, Willert has collected $240,561. He has won $81,022 at this year’s Wrangler NFR.

California’s Linda Vick won her first round in the barrel racing with a 13.95-second run. Vick, of Hesperia, entered her first Wrangler NFR as the No. 1 barrel racer in the world. She finished just ahead of reigning World Champion Kelly Kaminski, who stopped the clock in 14.05 seconds.

“Well, I kind of woke Hollywood up tonight as I was warming him up,” Vick said. “I wanted him a little more snappy, and I think it worked. All five of my grandchildren are here tonight, and I wanted to do well for them.”

Liz Pinkston of San Antonio, Texas, leads the average race with a total time of 113.68 seconds on eight runs. She leads Sherry Cervi of Marana, Ariz., who has a total time of 114.25 seconds. Kaminski, of Bellville, Texas, continues to hold the lead in the Jack Daniel’s World Standings with $150,560.

Saturday night’s action gets under way at 5:45 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on ESPN. All performances are being broadcast in high definition.

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