The young guns took center stage at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, this morning for the first of three rounds of the Junior Ironman Championship. Tee McLeod of Waldeck, Saskatchewan, took the early lead with a Round 1 total of 39.3 seconds on four head in heading, heeling, tie-down roping and steer wrestling.

“The heeling is my main event, and that’s the run I’ve been proudest of so far,” said McLeod, who has Paden Bray helping him on the heading and heeling sides. “So far, so good, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. So my strategy is just to keep getting a time in every event.”

McLeod has thus far been 10.0 in the heading, 12.6 in the tie-down, 8.7 in the heeling and 8.0 in the steer wrestling. Perhaps the most impressive part of his performance so far is the fact that he rode his 12-year-old gray horse, L.G., in both the steer wrestling and heeling. McLoud finished 13 in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association heeling standings in 2019 as a rookie, missing his first Canadian Finals Rodeo by just one spot.

Rounding out the rest of the Junior Ironman top five after Round 1: Defending champ Tyler West of Mertzon, Texas, is second so far with 44.1 seconds on four head; Sam Morgan of Southwest Ranches, Florida, is third, 47.8; Denton Good of Long Valley, South Dakota, 47.9; and Quade Hiatt of Canyon, Texas, 48.9.

Round 1 of the Cinch Timed Event Championship here at the Lazy E starts at high noon today.