Who Leads the Texas Talents Paving Their Way to Circuit Finals?

The Texas circuit boasts big numbers in both winnings and rodeos. See who is leading the standings headed toward the Waco gathering.

Sterling Crawley / Yfat Yossifor / San Angelo Standard-Times

The end of the season is upon us and both the World Standings and the Circuit Standings are settling in to reveal who will be making the trip to their respective finals.

The first of the 12 circuits to hold their finals will be Texas on October 8 - 11 in Waco. Due to each circuit having a varying number of rodeos within it's boundaries, contestants have different required numbers to attend. In the Texas circuit, those contestants who claim the circuit and live within its boundaries must attend 15 rodeos, but if you live outside the boundaries and choose to claim Texas as your home circuit, you had to go to 29 rodeos in order to be eligible.

The Texas cutoff date for standings is not until Sept. 30, so there is still time for things to change but let's take a look at who is leading the standings currently.

Bareback Riding

Jacob Lees has a pretty good lead on the field in the bareback riding event. Lees is from Caldwell, Idaho and has won $27,523 so far toward a title. Now, it is unclear if he has attended the required number of rodeos, but if he has, it will be very hard to catch him.

A few of Lees bigger wins came from Dalhart and Weatherford. He also won a little more than $3,800 at the Lifkin, Texas rodeo in April certainly helping him gain ground on the competitors in the circuit.

In the second place position right now is Lane McGehee from Victoria, Texas with $13,571. McGehee's most recent win within the circuit happened in El Paso where he won third place and about $1,100.

Rounding out the top five are Kash Martin, Leighton Berry and Brayze Schill who are certainly battling it out for the reserve championship.

Saddle Bronc Riding

The saddle bronc riding has many names listed that you can also find within the top 15. Sterling Crawley from Stephenville leads the pack of talent with $24,757. Crawley has made a total of seven trips to the National Finals Rodeo and is currently ranked number 29 in the World Standings.

The number two man in the circuit is Wyatt Casper from Miami, Texas who has won $19,389 on the season within the circuit. Casper looks solid to make his fifth trip to Las Vegas in December .

Chris Williams, Isaac Diaz and Brody Cress round out the top five in the circuit standings. With talent like this on the entry list, the saddle bronc riding should be a fan favorite in Waco in October.

Bull Riding

Snyder, Texas talent Scott Wells is leading the bull riding standings so far with his $31,731 in earnings. It won't count for his circuit, but Wells just earned the championship title at Castle Rock, Colo. at the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo with his 87.5 point ride that put $6,345 in his bank account.

Within the circuit, Wells has found success at Coleman, Liberty Hill and Killeen, Texas just to name a few.

Chasing Wells is Athens, Texas' own Jeff Askey who has gathered just over $23,000 on the year. Maverick Potter, Brody Yeary and Ethan Winckler finish the top five.

Steer Wrestling

Stephenville, Texas brings another talent to the top of the leaderboard with Don Payne. In total on the season, Payne has won $23,559 but certainly is not a safe bet to be the champion.

Trailing very close behind in second is Heath Thomas from Hemphill, Texas after having won $22,223. J.D. Struxness will also have something to say about who leaves with the championship buckle. The Milan, Minn. man is right behind them with $22,014. Cole Walker from Springtown, Texas has earned $21,184 which certainly keeps him in the race. Veteran cowboy Matt Reeves is sitting at number five with just over $19,000 won.

This truly is a race to watch as there are at least five cowboys are in the running.

Team Roping

The team roping seems to be basically decided up at this point. Dustin Egusquiza from Marianna, Florida leads the headers with $52,041 while the next closest cowboy to him is Riley Kittle who has $32,506.

In the heeling, Levi Lord is running away with the show with his $52,041 to match his partner Egusquiza. Jace Helton from Tolar, Texas is in the second place position with $27,575.

With talents like Tyler Wade, Kaleb Driggers and Tanner Tomlinson on the heading side paired up with superstars like Wesley Thorp, Patrick Smith and Junior Nogueira, the championship might be already won, but the competition should be absolutely outstanding. Fans should look to watch a mini-NFR team roping in Waco.

Tie-Down Roping

Sterling Smith is the name on top currently for the tie-down ropers, but this will likely change before the start of the finals. There are three men who are within reach of each other right at the top.

Smith has won $26,543 while John Douch from Huntsville has a total of $25,488 to be in second. Third place is none other than Shad Mayfield who is the current World Standings leader in both the tie-down and the All-Around. Mayfield has deposited $24,877 to his bank account so far in just circuit money.

Barrel Race and Breakaway Roping

The WPRA ladies have also been hard at it to earn their place to the circuit finals. In the barrel race, Tiany Schuster from Krum, Texas has earned $36,856 so far in the season and sits in the number one spot. Shelley Morgan is second after going to 24 circuit rodeos and winning $26,562.

The breakaway ladies are being led by Addie Weil from Commerce, Texas with her $21,259 but in second place and hot on her heels, less than $300 behind is Kelsi Domer from Dublin who has won $21,002. Just to make the top 12 in the breakaway, it currently takes more than $10,000 in winnings.