Bull rider Sonny Murphy (Herriman, Utah) continued his late-season surge by winning both rounds en route to the average title at the NILE Rodeo in Billings, Mont. Murphy scored 177 points on two head and earned $5,079. Murphy, the second-ranked bull rider in the world standings who claimed his event title at the recently held ProRodeo Tour Summer Finale in Omaha, Neb., moved to within $31,000 of injured reigning world champion bull rider Matt Austin. Both are scheduled to compete at the season-ending Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship, Nov. 10-12 in Dallas. After an opening-round 87 aboard Sankey Rodeo's Shock and Awe, Murphy followed that with a 90-point ride on Sankey's Far North to win the short round. Four home-state competitors pleased the crowd by winning their respective event titles as team ropers Derick Fleming (Worden)/Kory Mytty (Lolo), steer wrestler Ken Holland (Dillon) and barrel racer Shelly Anzick (Livingston) took home top honors. Fleming and Mytty earned $2,227 each after roping three steers in 19.9 seconds. Holland took down three steers in 12.9 seconds, good for $3,746, while Anzick recorded a time of 27.49 seconds on two runs, giving her checks worth $3,307. Other average champions in Billings were:
Bareback riders Bobby Mote (Redmond, Ore.) and Ryan Gray (Cheney, Wash.), 165 points on two head, $4,332 and $4,450, respectively;
Saddle bronc rider Cody Wright (Milford, Utah), 171 points on two head, $5,415; and
Tie-down ropers Hunter Herrin (Apache, Okla.) and Matt Shiozawa (Chubbuck, Idaho), 24.2 seconds on three head, $4,517 and $4,106, respectively.
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