Myles Neighbors, of Benton, Arkansas won Round 2 of the Lazy E Arena’s Jr. Ironman, with a time of 42.3 seconds on four head, moving him to first in the aggregate after eight with a time of 98.2 seconds.
The go-round win paid $1,000, and is the second go-round win of Neighbors’ Jr. Ironman career, as he won the first go in 2017. Neighbors has Paden Bray heading, Kirby Blankenship heeling, and Justin Shaffer hazing.
“I’ve learned to read my stock a little bit more and kind of know what they’re going to do,” Neighbors said of his progress since 2018. “That kind of took me out of it last year. I had a team roping steer that run left really hard, and I should have known that’s what he’s going to do because he did it on every one before me. But I let it get to my head. So I’ve learned to focus on the things I need to do, because that will keep me more consistent. I’ve learned to forget about the event before and the event after, and just work on the event I’m on at that given time.”
Neighbors watched as Bo Yaussi, last year’s winner and the first-go winner as well, took a 60 (at the Cinch Timed Event, ropers get a 60-second penalty instead of a no-time) in the steer wrestling, dropping to fifth with an aggregate time of 144.6 seconds on eight head.
“I don’t wish anybody bad luck,” Neighbors said. “Bo is a great competitor, and he won this event last year. He’s a great athlete. It did give me a little bit of breathing room, but I’d rather see him do good.”
California’s Wyatt Hansen is second at 103.1 seconds on eight head. Kansas’s JD Draper is 10.1 seconds behind Hansen at 113.2 seconds on eight head, followed by Oklahoma’s Culley Morgan at 135.8 seconds on eight head. Yaussi’s 144.6 is fifth, trailed by Ryder Ladner’s 187.1 seconds on eight, including a 60 in today’s bull dogging.
The final round of the Jr. Ironman is Sunday, March 4, at 10:30 a.m. before the final round of the Cinch Timed Event Championship. The winner will take home $10,000.
