Levi Wisness repeats as Red Bluff's Steer Wrestling Champion

Mud or no mud, steer wrestler Levi Wisness found a way to claim the average championship at the Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-Up for the second year in a row.
Wisness of Keene, N.D., scored his third Wrangler ProRodeo Tour victory of the season Sunday in the mud in Red Bluff, winning the steer wrestling average with a time of 25.7 seconds on three head. He edged Wade Sumpter of La Junta, Colo., who finished a click back at 25.8.
The co-champion of the average title at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo (Rapid City, S.D.) and the winner of both the Wrangler Tour Round and average titles at Rodeo Austin (Texas), Wisness took care of business on Sunday, despite a not-so-textbook run in the Tour round.
“The steer beat me out of there and then my horse slipped about three times leaving the box,” Wisness said. “So I was really late. I made a good run when I got to the steer, but I didn’t think I had a chance at winning it, honestly. After I threw him down, I thought maybe I would place third.”
Instead, even after a fifth-place time of 7.0 seconds in the Tour Round, Wisness still found his name at the top of the leaderboard.
The Red Bluff Round-Up marked the 10th stop on the 2007 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour, which consists of 21 rodeos from January to August. Contestants can choose 15 out of the 21 rodeos to count toward their official Tour rodeo count and compete for earnings, as opposed to Tour points, as in years past.
At the conclusion of the 21st rodeo, the top 35 contestants in total Tour money and the “wild card,” event champions from the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, will move on to the first Tour Championship event, July 14-18 in Caldwell, Idaho. Fox Sports Network and CBS are scheduled to televise all four Championship events.
Riders in all three roughstock events parlayed Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Round victories Sunday into average titles. Bareback rider Tom McFarland of Wickenburg, Ariz., spurred Big Bend Rodeo’s Miss Amerititle for 85 points that catapulted the three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier to the top with a total score of 165 points on two head, good for $6,133
Saddle bronc rider Cody Wright of Milford, Utah, scored 84 points aboard Flying U Rodeo’s Black Friday to win the round and the title, scoring 164 points after two rides and earning $6,437.
Bull rider Shane Gordon of Fort Jones, Calif., emerged as Sunday’s only rider to stay aboard his bull for the required eight seconds and won the title with a two-head total of 138 points. He pocketed a total of $16,449 that includes ground money from recording the only qualified ride of the Tour Round.
In the timed-event end of the arena, tie-down roper Jake Hannum of Ogden, Utah, took a page from the roughstock riders, rallying to win both Tour Round and average titles. His run of 8.9 seconds gave him the Tour-Round title and allowed him to rally to the three-head victory after starting the day in fifth place. His total time of 37.3 seconds was good for $6,552
Barrel racer Brittany Pozzi-Pharr turned in the fastest time of Sunday’s Tour Round with a 17.55-second run, giving her the average title, too, with an aggregate time of 52.97 seconds on three runs.
Gatesville, Texas, team ropers Tommy Edens and Coby Jones finished on top of their event after three rounds with a total time of 24.9 seconds, good for $7,442 each.
Red Bluff Round-Up, Average Champions
Bareback Riding
T: Tom McFarland (Wickenburg, Ariz.), 85 points
A: McFarland, 165 points on two head, $6,133
Steer Wrestling
T: Billy Bugenig (Ferndale, Calif.), 4.6 seconds
A: Levi Wisness (Keene, N.D.), 25.7 seconds on three head, $5,530
Team Roping
T: Chris Lawson (Gonzales, Texas)/Jake Corkill (Fallon, Nev.), 5.5 seconds
A: Tommy Edens (Gatesville, Texas)/Coby Jones (Gatesville, Texas), 24.9 seconds on three head, $7,442 each
Saddle Bronc Riding
T: Cody Wright (Milford, Utah), 84 points
A: Wright, 164 points on two head, $6,437
Tie-Down Roping
T: Jake Hannum (Ogden, Utah), 8.9 seconds
A: Hannum, 37.3 seconds on three head, $6,552
Barrel Racing
T: Brittany Pozzi-Pharr, 17.55 seconds
A: Pozzi-Pharr, 52.97 seconds on three runs, $5,813
Bull Riding
T: Shane Gordon (Fort Jones, Calif.), 68 points
A: Gordon, 138 points on two head, $5,186