Red Bluff cowboy leads bareback event at Nationals

Red Bluff cowboy Casey Meroshnekoff was the leader after the first go-round in bareback riding at the high school National Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo.

Casey Meroshnekoff recorded a score of 84, while Redding's J.W. Spears was tied for 10th with a 71.

After the first round, Spears — the state all-around champion — was in the top 10 in the national all-around competition, as he also took 18th in bull riding with a 66.

Austin Alvernaz of Williams finished in a tie for fourth place in boys cutting after the first go-round.

With 216 points, Alvernaz was in a three-way tie with Bailey Thurston of Oklahoma and Will Watts of New Mexico, seven points behind the leader.

The competition continues through today with the championship short-go.

In goat tying, Bailey Bidwell of Hat Creek was 23rd with a time of 9.687 seconds, and Wheatland's Chant DeForest was 20th in tie-down roping (10.461).

Both were less than 2 seconds behind their respective event leader.

Brandi Anthony of Red Bluff was 59th in breakaway roping (4.958).

The second-go began Wednesday night and Meroshnekoff had extended his lead in bareback with a ride of 81 points

Meroshnekoff carried a two-go aggregate score of 165 to lead by 14 points.

Several performances in the round, however, had not been completed.