Monthly Recap: Top 5 Resistol Jr. Headers

Colt Hilley has held onto the No. 1 spot for four months now, but his fellow headers are making it hard for him to get comfortable. In the October issue, Hilley led by 8 points. In November, 3. Now, at time of print for the December issue, he holds a narrow, 2-point lead, despite earning another 10 points in October. Nonetheless, he leads the charge with 60 points.

Behind Hilley, Aiden Perrett put the jets on in October. Last month, Perrett was in third with the 42 points that put him in the Top 5 back in August. This month, he added 16 points to his total, so he’s just off the leader with 58 points, which makes for an 11-point gap between him and Tyler Mota, now at No. 3 with 47 points.

For the month, the points and positions remain the same for the rest of the Top 5 headers with No. 4 Callahan Taylor carrying 38 points and No. 5 Gracie Drake holding 36.

Monthly Recap: Top 5 Resistol Jr. Heelers

Talk about turning on the jets: Houston Childers went to work again in October to ensure his lead in the USTRC Resistol Jr. race went unchallenged. From his previous 71 points, Childers catapulted to 93 point in the heeling with some good, solid catching in early October, giving him a 22-point lead over the No. 2 occupants.

Jade Phillip entered the Top 5 chat in July standings report (Aug. print issue) after a bang-up trip to June’s Hamilton, Texas, roping. Now, he’s back, and he’s saddled up with Brant Crookston in a tie for No. 2 with 46 points.

Brit Smith also makes a move one spot up the standings into the No. 4 position by earning 5 points, for a total of 43—a valuable gain that put him a single point ahead of Top 5 newcomer Kale Roark with 42 points. Though Roark has been steadily gaining throughout the season, his 17-point accrual in late September finally gave him the boost he needed to enter the top of the race.

Points breakdown: Winning Resistol Jr. headers

Colt Hilley of Mineral Well, Texas, took first place in the #7 USTRC at October’s Fall Classic in Decatur, and the win gave him the 10 points he needed to stay ahead of the pack.

Luverne, Alabama’s Aiden Perrett went to swinging at the Southern Alabama Championship in October and took a second-place finish in the #14.5 USTRC for 9 points, followed by a fourth-place finish in the #13.5 USTRC for another 7 points, keeping him in close contention with the lead. 

Points breakdown: Winning Resistol Jr. heelers

Fairmount, Georgia’s Houston Childers also hit up the Southern Alabama Championship where he doubled up on his points earnings in the #11.5 USTRC by finishing in third and fifth place, worth 8 and 6 points, respectively. He then took another third-place finish in the #10.5 USTRC for another 8 points, giving him an event total of 22 points. 

Hailing from Huntsville, Texas, Jade Philipp tapped into his earning potential at his home state’s Bryan Qualifier by taking first and sixth place in the #8.5 USTRC, earning him 10 and 5 points each.

For Atmore, Alabama’s Brit Smith, a sixth-place finish in the #10.5 USTRC at the Southern Alabama Championship earned him 5 points to add to his total.

Top 5 first-timer Kale Roark of Guymon, Oklahoma, earned his latest points cache in the #8.5 USTRC at September’s Oklahoma Classic with two, in-the-money finishes—second and third place—worth 9 and 8 points, respectively.

Hunter Langbein and Jade Philipp won the #8.5 USTRC in Bryan, Texas, earning Philipp 10 points to put toward his Resistol Jr. Heeling Standings.

2024 Resistol Jr. Champion Standings