LAS VEGAS – It’s sometimes hard to figure how J.D. Struxness never won a state wrestling championship while at Lac qui Parle Valley High School in Madison, Minnesota
He was a two-time runner up, settling for silver instead of gold, but he’s trying to make up for lost time at the National Finals Rodeo. He made another strong move Thursday, wrestling his steer to the ground in 3.9 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for second place during the eighth round. That was worth $20,285 and pushed his Las Vegas earnings past the $100,000 mark with two days remaining.
“Coming into tonight with what they’ve done on that steer previously, he was not one of my picks to run out here,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota, now living in Perrin, Texas. “You can’t change what you have, so we came up with a game plan. It was one of those nights where we needed to let it all hang out if we wanted to have any sort of chance at all. The horses were great, and we got a great start.
“We made a pretty darn good run on the ground, and we were able to speed that steer up a lot where we placed on him, which was the plan. It’s hard, but when you know you have a steer like that, you’ve got to do some extra work.”
He is No. 2 in the world standings with $251,083 and trails leader Dakota Eldridge by $13,351. Struxness needs to continue to earn big paydays over the final two go-rounds if he has a chance to take the coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to the world champion. While he owns a slim lead over the No. 3 cowboy, Will Lummus, the latter is second in the aggregate race.
The top eight cowboys based on 10-round cumulative times earn hefty bonuses, and the winner will pocket more than $86,000. That will go a long way toward crowing the titlist. Struxness has battled his way back after suffering a no-time on opening night, but he is ninth in the average. That’s why the final few nights of the NFR have been so vital to him.
“This time of the week, we have to open up and take chances, so it’s first or last right now,” Struxness said. “We opened up tonight, took a chance on one we didn’t like very much at all, and it worked out.”
That process includes working with his team, including fellow NFR bulldoggers Rowdy Parrott and Ty Erickson – who won the eighth round – and their hazer, Matt Reeves. They come up with an idea of what techniques to use. Most importantly is getting a good start, and having Erickson’s horse, Crush, in the mix helps; he’s the 2024 PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year.
“Matt takes care of things until after that head catch, and I needed to get out in front of the steer to try to speed him up on the ground, be over him and have all my power there to clean him up,” he said. “This is one of those nights when the game plan got executed perfectly.”
Struxness has wrestled for titles before. He knows the pressure that comes with it, but he also understands that performing at an optimum level is crucial. That’s been his plan since Day 1, and he’s just amping up the pressure on the field.