Brazile ties down No. 7
It took Trevor Brazile longer than he expected to rope most of his calves and catch his steers in team roping.
It also took a few days longer than he expected to win his seventh all-around world championship in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Brazile, 33, needed the 10th and final night of the National Finals Rodeo to match the record for most all-around championships in PRCA history set by Ty Murray in 1998.
Brazile’s seventh title became official Saturday after Colorado’s Josh Peek, the only one who could have caught him, finished out of the money in steer wrestling.
Brazile, from Decatur, Texas, finished the season with $346,779 — beating Peek by $101,712 — and added his second calf roping world championship before 17,418 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“Oh, man, the only day better than the 10th round is the day after the 10th round,” Brazile said after calf roping.
Murray, who retired from rodeo in 2002, attended to recognize Brazile’s milestone.
“I’m thrilled for Trevor. I got to inspire Trevor the same way Larry Mahan inspired me,” said Murray, a protege of six-time all-around titlist Mahan.
“Everybody expects me to be mad or sad or bitter. It really doesn’t feel that way. It doesn’t diminish what I was able to do in my career.”
Brazile already is planning to break his tie with Murray. He was disappointed about failing to record a time in six of 10 team roping go-rounds and falling from fifth to 14th in the season standings.
“You can learn from everything, and I promise you I’m going to,” Brazile said.
Following are other 2009 world champions:
BAREBACK
Bobby Mote started the NFR trailing Clint Cannon of Waller, Texas, by about $63,000 and staged one of the sport’s biggest rallies to win his third world title.
Mote finished first in five of 10 Finals go-rounds and added the NFR average title to $139,859 over the past 10 nights. His season total of $310,219 is a single-season bareback record.
STEER WRESTLING
Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif., only needed to place sixth in the final go-round to win his third world title. But the popular bulldogger missed his steer and Canadian Lee Graves placed third to win his second world title.
TEAM ROPING
The night began with five teams in contention for world titles. But the two with the best shots botched runs that helped header Nick Sartain of Yukon, Okla., and heeler Kollin VonAhn of Durant, Okla., win their first championship.
Reigning world champion header Randon Adams of Logandale and heeling partner JoJo LeMond of Andrews, Texas, finished the season fifth.
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, Mont., led nearly all of the regular season and maintained the pace by winning the NFR aggregate title and his first world championship.
CALF ROPING
The world title went to Brazile and the NFR aggregate title went to his brother-in-law, Tuf Cooper. The 19-year-old won $87,355 in the Finals and finished second to Brazile in the world standings.
BARREL RACING
Brittany Pozzi of Victoria, Texas, began the round with the world lead, and placed third in the round to edge reigning world champion Lindsay Sears of Nanton, Alberta, for her second world title in three years.
The difference was when Sherry Cervi of Marana, Ariz., placed second in the go-round and moved to first in the event aggregate. That dropped Sears to second by five-hundredths of a second.
BULL RIDING
J.W. Harris clinched his second consecutive world title Friday.
Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.
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