Grand opening

Ryan Gray competes Wednesday in the bareback riding event at the 61st annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo. Gray's ride earned him a score of 86 and second-place on the night. (Photo by Brent Shipman, Staff)

Muddy conditions can't hold down high scores

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- Even a mud-caked arena floor couldn't stop contestants from putting up some impressive numbers on Wednesday as fans celebrated opening night of the 61st annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo.

In the bareback riding event, Jared Smith posted a score of 89 to win the night and likely stay near the top of the leaderboard through the weekend. Ryan Gray was close behind as his ride of 86 was good for second place and Tyler Price scored an 84 to take third.

Heith DeMoss posted an 84 in saddle bronc riding to best all comers while Jordan Corrigan, Weston Pierschbacher and Lucas Wilson all tied for second place with scored of 79.

The duo of Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill combined for a time of 10.6 seconds through their two runs in the team roping competition to take top honors. Joel Bach and Allen Bach finished with an 11 second aggregate to earn second place.

In barrel racing Kaley Bass completed her run in 16.68 seconds to beat out the other 14 competitors. Shawna Bourne's time of 16.71 left her in second place and Jaime Barrow took third with a run of 17.03 seconds.

Running away with the competition, Beau Clark finished his two go rounds with a combined time of 8.7 seconds to win the steer wrestling event. His closest competitor was Dru Melvin, whose combined time of 9.6 seconds left him with second place.

In tie down roping Cody McCartney edged out Hunter Herrin by a tenth of a second with an aggregate time of 18.1 seconds to take first place. Ryan Watkins aggregate time of 18.6 seconds left him with third place.

Though their were plenty of challengers only two riders managed to post scores in the night's main event, bull riding. John Young just edged out Trevor Reiste for first place as they earned scores of 78 and 77 respectively.

The night's results are as follows:

Bareback Riding

1. Jared Smith, 89

2. Ryan Gray, 86

3. Taylor Price, 84

4. Justin McDaniel, 81

5. Steven Peebles, 79

6. Andy Carter, 71

Steer Wrestling

1. Beau Clark, 8.7

2. Dru Melvin, 9.6

3. Dakota Eldridge, 11.2

4. Riley Duvall, 11.2

5. Tyler Harris, 11.7

6. Dean Gorsuch, 11.8

7. Ty Erickson, 18.9

8. Blake Knowles, 23.9

Team Roping

1. Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill, 10.6

2. Joel Bach/Allen Bach, 11.0

3. Charly Crawford/Ryan Motes, 11.4

4. Justin Davis/Clay O'Brien Cooper, 11.7

5. Drew Horner/ Buddy Hawkins II, 12.8

6. Coleman Proctor/Matt Kasner, 16.4

7. Cale Marham/Jake Pianalto, 17.2

8. Nathan McWhorter/Randall Richard, 18.7

Saddle Bronc Riding

1. Heith Allan DeMoss, 84

2. Jordan Corrigan, 79

2. Weston Pierschbacher, 79

2. Lucas Wilson, 79

5. Sam Spreadborough, 76

6. Logan Allen, 67

Tie Down Roping

1. Cody McCartney, 18.1

2. Hunter Herrin, 18.2

3. Ryan Watkins, 18.6

4. Bradley Bynum, 18.7

4. Bryson Sechrist, 18.7

6. Tuf Cooper, 20.6

7. Dennis Luetge, 22.8

8. Fred Whitfield, 25.5

Bull Riding

1. John Young, 78

2. Trevor Reiste, 77

Barrel Racing

1. Kaley Bass, 16.6

2. Shawna Bourne, 16.7

3. Jaime Barrow, 17.0

4. Jesse Alsup, 17.2

5. Adriane Kochie, 17.5

6. Samantha Lyne, 17.5

7. Benette Little, 17.6

8. Jackie Whitcher, 17.7

9. Dee Ratliff, 17.8

9. Ashley Baur, 17.8

11. Sally Young, 17.90

12. Sherry Rhea, 17.92

13. Jill Tanner, 17.93

14. SaraCatarina Dockery, 18.0

15. Lori Keyes, 18.4