The NFR heeling line could move before a single team backs into the box for Round 2 of Set 1 at the Cinch Playoff Series tonight, and the team that moves it isn’t in Puyallup yet.

Brenten Hall and Wyatt Cox are tied for third at the Lewiston Roundup with a 4.1-second run. If that holds through Saturday, third place paid about $3,214 a man at last year’s ladder — enough to lift Cox from $103,618.42 and No. 16 to roughly $106,832 and No. 15, about $760 ahead of Logan Medlin. Medlin sits 15th at $106,071.67 after he and Coy Rahlmann split third and fourth in Round 1 here Thursday for $1,316.25 a man.

Both teams are in Set 1. Both rope tonight.

Where the lines sit

With Round 1 money added to the Sept. 8 world standings, the No. 15 header is Clint Summers at $102,029.85, with Nelson Wyatt $3,482 back at No. 16. The No. 15 heeler is Medlin at $106,071.67, with Cox $2,453 back. Both lines jumped on Ellensburg money this week — the heeling line by about $2,500 in a day — and the heeling cutline now sits roughly $11,000 ahead of where it was on the same date last year.

Round 1 belonged to Dawson and Dillon Graham, who won it in 4.0 seconds for $3,510 a man. Dawson moves from No. 15 to No. 12 at $105,266.94; Dillon to No. 9 at $112,561.94. James Arviso and Levi Lord were second in 4.1 for $2,632.50, holding at No. 7 and No. 4. Luke Brown and Hunter Koch tied Rahlmann and Medlin at 4.4.

Set 1 tonight: who needs what

Hall and Cox did not place in Round 1. Hall is No. 18 at $94,993.98, $3,554 behind Wyatt for No. 16 and $7,036 behind Summers for No. 15; his Lewiston check, if it holds, gets him to about $98,208, $340 short of Wyatt. Cox’s math is above. A placing tonight would make the Lewiston question moot for him.

Rahlmann and Medlin are tied for third in the set average at 4.4, in position for Sunday’s semifinal. Rahlmann is No. 13 at $105,105.82, $6,558 clear of Wyatt. A second placing tonight all but guarantees a semifinal check of at least $1,600 and answers Cox’s pending money.

Cody Snow and Lane Mitchell did not place Thursday. Mitchell is No. 13 at $108,108.24, $4,490 over Cox; Snow is No. 10 at $110,811.29. Clint Summers and Jade Corkill also went without a check. Summers holds No. 15; Corkill is No. 17 at $102,029.85, $4,042 out.

Ketch Kelton and Denton Dunning did not place. Kelton is No. 14 at $102,551.67, $4,004 over Wyatt; Dunning is No. 10. Jr. Dees and Coleby Payne did not place, but Payne — roping with Clay Smith at Lewiston — is in the three-way tie for third there, which at last year’s ladder would move him from $108,615.92 to about $111,830 and No. 10.

Saturday, and the Lewiston overlap

Set 2 ropes twice Saturday, and three of those teams are also on the Lewiston leaderboard.

Cash Duty and Trent Vaught are tied for the Lewiston lead at 4.0 with Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira. A split of first and second paid about $4,676 a man last year; that would take Vaught from $98,995.39 and No. 18 to roughly $103,671 and No. 17, about $2,400 behind Medlin, before he ropes a steer in Puyallup.

Tanner Tomlinson and Wesley Thorp, who won Ellensburg on Monday, sit sixth at Lewiston at 4.2. Sixth paid $2,192 last year, which would move Thorp from $95,089.25 to about $97,281 — still No. 20, about $1,267 behind Jonathan Torres and roughly $8,800 behind the line. His NFR case still runs through the Puyallup finals and Mandan, not Lewiston.

Garrett Tonozzi and Trey Yates rope Set 2 through the NFR Open exemption. Yates is No. 11 at $110,178.61, $4,107 clear of the line, and he and Riley Kittle lead Fort Madison, Iowa, at 5.4 seconds. First there paid $3,831 last year. If both hold, Yates is near $114,000 before Saturday.

Dustin Egusquiza and JC Flake also rope Saturday. Flake is No. 14 at $107,700.18, $4,082 over Cox — a cushion that shrinks to about $868 if Cox’s Lewiston money posts.

What Puyallup pays

The purse is $77,000 a side. Each performance pays $3,510, $2,632.50, $1,755 and $877.50 a man. The top four on two head from each set advance to Sunday’s semifinal, where fifth through eighth pay $1,600 and the top four advance to a final paying $13,900, $10,550, $7,200 and $3,850. A team that wins both rounds of its set and the final takes $20,920 a man. The top four in the final also qualify for the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., Sept. 25–27, where the team roping purse is $166,667 a side.

Not in Puyallup, and standing still while it pays: Wyatt at No. 16, Torres at No. 19, Kavis Drake, Denim Ross, and Riley and Brady Minor. Their next money is Pendleton, Sept. 16–19, and the Rough Rider Cup in Mandan, N.D., Sept. 18–20.

Set 1, Round 2 is at 6:30 p.m. Pacific.

Puyallup Rodeo — IN PROGRESS

Puyallup, Wash., Sept. 10-13

Bracket One, first round: 1. Dawson Graham/Dillion Graham, 4.0 seconds, $3,510 each; 2. James Arviso/Levi Lord, 4.1, $2,633; 3. (tie) Luke Brown/Hunter Koch and Coy Rahlmann/Logan Medlin, 4.4, $1,316 each.

Lewiston Roundup — IN PROGRESS

Lewiston, Idaho, Sept. 10-12

Leaders: 1. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira and Cash Duty/Trent Vaught, 4.0 seconds each; 3. (tie) Brenten Hall/Wyatt Cox, Jake Smith/Douglas Rich and Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 4.1 each; 6. Tanner Tomlinson/Wesley Thorp, 4.2.

Tri-State Rodeo — IN PROGRESS

Fort Madison, Iowa, Sept. 10-12

Leaders: 1. Riley Kittle/Trey Yates, 5.4 seconds; 2. Rylee Mills/Garrett Smith, 6.0; 3. Luke Fenton/Jordan Reynolds, 6.3; 4. Cole Smith/Ryan Von Ahn, 7.7; 5. Dalton Turner/Jace Steenhoek, 11.6; 6. Tyler Hobert/Cooper Bruce, 14.4.

Palouse Empire Rodeo — IN PROGRESS

Colfax, Wash., Sept. 10-11

Leaders: 1. Denver Eng/Calgary Smith, 5.3 seconds; 2. Clayton Hansen/Chase Hansen, 9.8; 3. Brayden Schmidt/Creed West, 10.2; 4. Cooper Mills/Caleb McMillan, 13.1; 5. Aaron Kreps/Tim Messner, 14.3; no other qualified runs.

Apple Hill Stables Rodeo — IN PROGRESS

Levant, Maine, Sept. 11

Leaders: 1. (tie) Justin Thigpen/Kayden Sherwood and Rob Toth/Talon Salazar, 5.8 seconds each; 3. David Ballantyne/T.R. Serio, 7.2; 4. T.J. Smith/Scot Brown, 7.3; 5. Junior Fornazin/Jimmy Kelly, 7.4; 6. Jimmy Healy Jr./J.R. Myers, 11.5.