Top 5 Takeaways

Alabama header Aiden Perrett maintains his lead with an impressive 83 points but holds a mere one-point edge over North Carolina’s Walker Guy, who earned a whopping 26 points since the last reporting. Weston Baucom, also of North Carolina, holds onto the No. 3 spot but, again, only by one point. Behind him in fourth with 33 points is standings newcomer Kade Clark of Florida, while Georgia’s Houston Childers rounds out the Top 5 with 30 points.

On the heel side, the same Houston Childers lost his No. 1 position to McDavid, Florida’s Brit Smith’s 71 points—a massive 28-point gain for Smith—but the Georgian’s earnings on the month make for a solid second-place standing with 64 points (up 18 points from last month). From Mississippi, Lucas Koehn arrived on the scene with 57 points to claim his No. 3 spot on the standings, while Texas’ Kelby Frizzell falls from his first-place tie with Childers to fourth place without any points gained in the month. The standings shakeup also means California’s Dean Sherbo falls to fifth in the Top 5 with his 40 points. 

Winning Headers

From Luverne, Alabama, Aiden Perrett bolstered his No. 1-worthy points cache—74 points previously earned at June’s Florida Panhandle Championships and North Alabama Championships—when, in late July, he headed in the #12.5 at the Alabama Championships. There, the 5 header who turns 16 this month took second place, worth 9 points, bringing his total to 83—just enough for him to continue his reign of the leaderboard.

Hot on Perrett’s heels is Walker Guy‭ ‬with 82 points. Whereas Guy trailed Perrett at last reporting by 18 points, the 15-year-old from Waynesville, North Carolina, went to battle to earn a total of 26 points at the July Alabama Championships and the Southern States Classic in early August. In July, Guy took second- and fourth-place finishes in the #11.5 for 9 and 7 points, respectively. Then, in August, he won the #14.5 for a full 10 points.  

New to the Top 5 is Kade Clark of Baker, Florida. Clark, a 4 header, began his points-earning season in early June at the Florida Panhandle Championships, where he took sixth place and 5 points in the #9.5. Then, the 13-year-old won second place in the #7 at the Alabama Championships in July, worth 9 points. When he went to the Alabama Classic next, he hammered down in the #7, taking both first and second place and a combined 19 points. His total 33 points, at this reporting, are worth the No. 4 spot in the standings.

Houston Childers, on the other hand, is no newcomer to the Top 5, though this is the first we’ve seen of him on the heading end. (He’d been locked in a tie for first in the heeling prior to this reporting.) The 5.5 switchender who turned 14 in September appears to be keen on efficiency and has, since June, only placed in three ropings, but has won each of them for the whole 10 points. From Fairmount, Georgia, Childers dominated the #12.5 at the Florida Panhandle Championships, the Alabama Championships and the Southern States Classic, earning him a No. 5 ranking in the heading.

Winning Heelers

McDavid, Florida’s Brit Smith has resolved the months-long tie for first in the heeling by earning 28 points since the last reporting and ousting the No. 1 spot’s former occupants. His recent feat began at the Alabama Championships in late July, where the soon to be 16-year-old, 4 heeler put his entries to work by taking third and sixth place in the #8.5 for a combined 13 points. In August, he again capitalized on his entries when he took second and fifth place in the #9.5 for a combined 15 points. Added to the 43 points he earned in June, Smith has 71 points, worth the heeling standings’ No. 1 spot.

Now on the heel side, Houston Childers falls to second but shakes loose of the tie with an 18-point gain over the previously reported 46 points. In July, he took third place and 8 points in the Alabama Championships’ #9.5, followed by his trip to the Southern States Classic in early August. There, he earned the whole 10 points by winning the #9.5 USTRC Prize roping.

In his first Resistol Jr standings appearance, Lucas Koehn of Macon, Mississippi, has claimed the No. 3 spot with 57 points. The 15-year-old, 7 heeler has had a sensational earnings season that kicked off at June’s North Alabama Championships, where he took first and 10 points in the #11.5. At July’s Alabama Championships, he followed suit by winning the #13.5 and #11.5, again for 10 points each. He didn’t sweep August’s Tunica Super Qualifier, but he did make good work of the #12.5, in which he took second and third for a combined 17 points. Not to worry: He recovered at the Alabama Classic where he won the #14.5 for 10 points. 

Current USTRC or Key Card/Key Card Max membership is required to participate in the Resistol Junior Champion Program. Earned points begin counting at time of membership purchase through the NFTR’s last shootout event. The season begins the Monday after the last USTRC Cinch NFTR event and ends the last day of the next USTRC Cinch NFTR event.

Ropers must enter at least one Shootout division in the USTRC NFTR to be eligible. The award will be announced at the end of the USTRC Cinch National Finals of Team Roping event.

The points breakdowns are as follows: Starting with At Home Challenge Events, ropers will earn 10 points if they win the Challenge. No other points will be awarded. At Signature Events, points will be awarded to those winning an aggregate check. It starts at First Place with 10 points, Second = 9 points, and so on as far down as the ropings are paid. During the Cinch NFTR, the placing points are simply doubled. First Place will be 20, second = 18, and so on.