Round one of First Frontier finals Jan 11, 2007

By Mary Rudloff
Posted Friday, January 12, 2007

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The First Frontier Circuit Finals got underway on Thursday, Jan. 11 in the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg.

Round one showed a split between animals and cowboys in the win category as riders compete for the right to represent the circuit in Pocatello, Idaho later this year.

The First Frontier Circuit includes Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia, The finals have also drawn qualifiers from Texas, Wyoming, Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Quebec, Canada.

The night kicked off with bareback riding, where Luis Escudero made the first step in defending his last year’s circuit finals win. Escudero, of El Paso, Texas, posted the high score of 76. Rocky Yasko, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, posted the second highest score with a 72, followed by Sylvain Meunier of Quebec with a 71 point ride. Also making qualified rides were Bob Cross, of Elmer, NJ; John Winkers Jr. of Woodstown, NJ; Clovis Crane of Lebanon Pa.; and Jason Martin of Pittsgrove, NJ. Martin, who scored a 67, is working on maintaining his lead in the circuit standings.

The steers were being less than cooperative in the steer wrestling events, but several of the riders posted good times for their efforts. Tyler Miller, of McClure, Pa., took the round with a 5.1 second time. Miller is also competing in the bull riding at the finals and is in the top five in the circuit All Around standings.

Greg Bennett, of Lake Luzerne, NY, was just behind Miller with a 5.4 second time. Bennett is currently leading the circuit standings in the event.

Wayne Stoltzfus, also of McClure, Pa., and Kirk Trumpower, of Clear Spring, Md., split third and fourth, each posting a 5.6 second time.

Others posting qualified times were Junior Allo of Monroe, NJ (7.8s); Chad Stoltzfus of Peach Bottom, Pa. (8.4s); Wayne Van of Mannington, NJ (8.4s); Lee Ellsworth of Hudson Falls, NY (10.8s) and Heath Kroll of Pedricktown, NJ (11.0s).

It was a rough night for team ropers, with only half the teams making qualified catches. Header Keith Warner and heeler Cody Warner had the best time of the night with a 7.1 second time. Header Carmine Nastri and heeler Shawn Quinn were right behind them with a 7.7 second time. Third went to header Brian Frattaroli and heeler Steve Dyer who landed a 9 second time.

Saddle bronc rider Tim Sloan of Whitehall Montana took the round with a 74 point ride. Larry Johnson, of Gettysburg, Pa., and Chad Alesky of Monroeville, Pa., split second and third with 70 point rides. Dennis Rossignol of Catonsville, Md., placed fourth with a 67 point score on his reride. Dave Rubel of Grantville, Pa. posted a 63 point ride.

Saddle bronc rider Bill Lewis, of Elizabeth Colorado, broke his neck when he landed head first after being bucked off. Lewis, who is the points leader in the circuit, was removed from the arena on a backboard, at which time he was reported to be conscious but not moving.

The calves were winning at a two-to-one ratio in the tie down roping, with only five qualified times being posted. Zach Kilgus of Mt Morris, Pa. posted the fastest time at 10.8 seconds. He was followed by Darren Morgan of Fort Edward, NY (12.5 sec); Chuck Smith of Townsend, Del. (13.3 sec); Carmine Nastri of Ballston Spa. NY (14.5 sec); and JR Myers Jr. of Felton Pa. with a 22.5 second time.

Thursday night was not a good night to be a bullrider in the First Frontier Circuit. Only two of the 12 riders posted qualified rides, as the bulls definitely won round one. Henry Mast of Dundee, Ohio won the round aboard Crankshaft with a 72 point ride. Will O’Connell posted a less than stellar 63 point ride on the Firecracker. Even though Firecracker’s out barely lit a spark in the arena, it was still enough to give O’Connell, of Zwingle, Iowa, a second place finish.

Round two action is slated for 7 p.m. Friday night in the Farm Show Arena, and the event will wrap up Saturday, Jan. 13 with round three starting at 5 p.m.

Announcing the First Frontier Circuit Finals is Wayne Wise. Entertainment is provided by rodeo clown Keith Isley, in a return visit to the finals, and Lynn Payne of the One Armed Bandit and Company, of Shidler, Okla.