Steer wrestler Tad Williams finds his footing in second round

LAS VEGAS – Tad Williams picked up where he left off at the YETI Junior World Finals.

After a broken barrier in the first round Tuesday, the Coalville, Utah, steer wrestler tied for the second-round win in the Ote Berry Junior Steer Wrestling World Championships with a 3.5-second run.

“I got the barrier on that first one,” Williams said of his 14.3-second run in the first round, “but with eight more rounds to go there’s so much more that can happen that a barrier is not going to be the end of the world. If I can just keep on hammering down and stay behind the barrier for the rest of them we’ll be all right.”

Last year, Williams emerged as the world champ thanks to four clean runs in the shootout round. He was the only one of the four competitors in the shootout to be clean on all four runs.

He won’t get that chance this year, as the world champ will be crowned after 10 rounds – two rounds each day, with the final round set for Saturday.

“I love this format; it’s as good as it can get,” Williams noted. “It’s a 10-head average … it’s who can do it the most consistently every single time. That’s the real winner, who can be the most consistent, no matter the steer or what go it is.”

In other words, it’s just like the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo over at the Thomas & Mack Center. And that’s just what ProRodeo Hall of Fame member and longtime Junior NFR producer Ote Berry wanted.

“It’s the same format as the NFR,” he said. “This is the best way to determine the true winner … cream rises to the top.”

Cotter Johnston of Stapleton, Nebraska, was standing at the top of the standings after two rounds with a time of 8.8 seconds on two head. Johnston tied for third in the first round with a 3.6-second run and was fourth in the second round with a 4.2.

Stanley, North Dakota, bulldogger Trey Bombach, who competes for Gillette College, is second in the average with a 9.1. Bombach tied Williams for the win in the second round after posting a 5.6 in the first round. Rounding out the top four in the average are Colton Heron from Kingwood, Texas, with a 9.7 and Terran Talsma from Avon, South Dakota, with a 9.9.

Colton Wilson of Bertram, Texas, won the first round with a 3.9, but broke the barrier in the second round and had to settle for a 13.9. He and Williams both ended the day with a two-run total of 17.8 seconds but are two of only 13 bulldoggers to not have a no-time among the 22 entrants.

After winning the world title last year Williams built on that success throughout the 2025 season. He finished second in the PRCA Permit standings with nearly $20,000 and finished fourth in the Wilderness Circuit behind NFR qualifiers Stetson Jorgensen, Dakota Eldridge and Riley Duvall. Williams finished third in the Wilderness Circuit Finals last month behind Jorgensen and five-time world champ Tyler Waguespack.

Going against that level of competition all season has Williams prepared for the rest of this year’s YETI Junior NFR.

“Iron sharpens iron,” he said.