Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin got their second go-round win of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Round 8 with the fastest run of the rodeo—a 3.5-second run that topped the toughest round of team roping so far at the 2022 NFR.

For the win, they picked up $28,913 a man, moving their NFR earnings total to $77,543.02 each. They have $188,234.39 won in the PRCA world standings and, after a bobble in Rounds 6 and 7, are now sixth in the average with a time of 35.30 seconds on six head.

Resetting Their Game

“You just try to bounce back,” said Proctor , 35, of Pryor, Oklahoma. “We’ve been getting ready for this for 60 days. I just try not to think too much about it. Had a good talk with my buddy Justin Turner last night, and he said, ‘Don’t overthink it; just go back to doing what you’re doing.’ When you get a good start on Heisman, it’s so easy to catch. I knew that was the key to it. Just get in there and own it a little bit more tonight and put my nerves aside and get back to it.”

Proctor liked the steer he drew—one Jake Orman and Brye Crites roped in 4.8 seconds in Round 2, and the steer JR Dees got a barrier on in Round 5.

Play-By-Play

“There haven’t been a lot of broken barriers this week,” Proctor said. “That’s always something kind of nerve-racking. But I figured Heisman would sniff it out for me because he knows how to win. I’m always kind of pulling here when I take off the back and get my swing going—I’m kind of feeling it out. I don’t know how much I pulled tonight. I was more intense on making sure I hit the back of his horns with my rope, because I haven’t done that the last couple times.”

Proctor hit the horns and Medlin got the feet fast, topping a go-round in which a 4.0 split last hole. When the flag dropped, a rare moment of exuberance exploded from the usually cool, calm and collected Medlin.

“I like to think I can keep it together a little bit more,” said Medlin, 30, of Tatum, New Mexico. “But for some reason, when you see 3.5 on the clock, I gave a pretty abrupt fist pump. Which, for my horse that’s a little green in the arena, it’s probably not best to get him fired up. We joked about it getting ready for the Finals—I was going to have to tone the celebrations down. But I saw 3.5 on the clock, and I glazed over. I don’t remember any of it after that. He took the victory lap good—I don’t really remember how freaked out he was when I was fist-pumping, though.”

Horsepower

Medlin made the swap to 6-year-old American Rope Horse Futurity Association World Championship finalist TRR Freckles Holidoc in Round 4, and it’s been aboard “Cantina” that he won Round 5 and now Round 8.

“He’s been spot on,” Medlin said. “He’s settling in a little more every night. I never thought I’d ride something other than Drago when I got out here, but it’s funny what the Lord has in store. One door that might be kind of closing, another one’s opened up. And I am just thankful for the blessing He’s giving me, and trusting the process.”

Of note, Proctor just graduated with his bachelor’s degree in general studies from Northwestern Oklahoma State University this week while at the NFR, though he does have one more final to turn in Friday morning.

World Standings Race

Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira found their groove again in Round 8, stopping the clock in 4.0 seconds to tie for fifth and sixth with Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill. That paid them $6,062.55 a man, and edged them farther away from average leaders Tanner Tomlinson and Patrick Smith, who were one hole out with a 4.1-second run. Driggers and Nogueira now have $280,548.87 each in PRCA world standings. Tryan and Corkill are second in the world with $232,310.41 and $198,502.51, respectively. Tomlinson and Smith are third with $197,813.58.

If the rodeo ended after Round 8 and aggregate money were factored in, Driggers and Nogueira would win the world titles with $340,708.23 a man. Tomlinson and Smith would add $74,149.92 each to their current total for the average win, finishing second in the world with $271,963.50 each.

Full Results — Team Roping 2022 NFR — Round 8