Ketch Kelton extended his lead in his first Cinch Timed Event Championship, knocking 15 head down in 195.7 seconds, a full 34.9 seconds ahead of second-place Kyle Lockett going to the final day of competition March 1.
After winning the first two rounds, Kelton was 73.2 on five head to be seventh in the third go-round, and second-place Lockett was ninth with a 79.1 on five. Both men have the help of Colter Todd, the NFR switchender and 2023 NFR average champion heeler, on both ends.
Kelton, at just 19, is the reigning National High School Finals Rodeo Champion in both the team roping and the all-around, and he’s won two JR. Ironman Championships in the Lazy E Arena before throwing his name in the hat for the Ironman of Rodeo.
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The Arizona native, who now lives in Texas and attends Cisco College, missed his first head shot and rebuilt his loop to stop the clock in the heading with 13.7 seconds, and he followed it up with a 29.9 second tie-down roping run. He and Todd were a 7.7 in the heeling, and Kelton dodged a tough steer to be 6.0 in the dogging. He finished the round with a 15.9 in the steer roping to jump further ahead of the pack.
Meanwhile, the 2023 Champ Cody Doescher got his first go-round win of the week with a time of 56.4 seconds on five head, worth $3,000.
That moved Doescher to seventh in the average with a 270.5 on 15 head. He trails Kelton by 74.8 seconds.
After the afternoon performance on Saturday, March 1, the bottom five contestants will drop out of the race, with only 15 going into Round 5. On the bubble entering Round 4? Jess Tierney, Blane Cox, John Douch, Billy Good and Erich Rogers.
CTEC Aggregate Results on 15 Head
| Name | Time | |
| 1 | Ketch Kelton | 195.7 |
| 2 | Kyle Lockett | 230.6 |
| 3 | Seth Hall | 246.6 |
| 4 | Paul D. Tierney | 253.7 |
| 5 | Brushton Minton | 255.1 |
| 6 | Dylan Hancock | 262.5 |
| 7 | Cody Doescher | 270.5 |
| 8 | Riley Wakefield | 276.1 |
| 9 | Colby Lovell | 276.2 |
| 10 | Nelson Wyatt | 279.5 |
| 11 | Kolton Schmidt | 299.8 |
| 12 | K.C. Jones | 300.1 |
| 13 | Marcus Theriot | 312.6 |
| 14 | Thomas Smith | 320.1 |
| 15 | Russell Cardoza | 321.6 |
| 16 | Jess Tierney | 326.3 |
| 17 | Blane Cox | 346.0 |
| 18 | John Douch | 349.0 |
| 19 | Billy Good | 391.5 |
| 20 | Erich Rogers | 397.6 |
CTEC Round 3 Results
| Name | Time | Payout |
| Cody Doescher | 56.4 | $3,000 |
| Marcus Theriot | 56.6 | $2,000 |
| Thomas Smith | 59.8 | $1,000 |
| Riley Wakefield | 60.2 | |
| Seth Hall | 60.5 | |
| Paul D. Tierney | 62.8 | |
| Ketch Kelton | 73.2 | |
| Russell Cardoza | 73.4 | |
| Kyle Lockett | 79.1 | |
| Brushton Minton | 79.7 | |
| Jess Tierney | 82.5 | |
| Kolton Schmidt | 85 | |
| Blane Cox | 90.8 | |
| Dylan Hancock | 92.5 | |
| John Douch | 97.3 | |
| Nelson Wyatt | 99.3 | |
| Colby Lovell | 100.4 | |
| K.C. Jones | 115.4 | |
| Billy Good | 167.9 | |
| Erich Rogers | 171.7 |
