Kane Kucera. Contributed photo courtesy of Wild Ones Photography

Kane Kucera, a seventh-grader at North Tama, has earned a position on the Iowa National Junior High rodeo team and will be traveling with fellow teammates to Perry, Georgia June 19 through June 25 to compete at the 17th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) in the Light Rifle competition.

Kucera has been the Iowa Junior High Rodeo light rifle state champion for the last two years.

Featuring roughly 1,200 contestants from 43 U.S. States, five Canadian Provinces, Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, the NJHFR is the world’s largest junior high rodeo. In addition to competing for more than $80,000 in prizes, NJHFR contestants will also be competing for more than $200,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named a National Junior High Finals Rodeo World Champion. To earn this title, contestants must finish in the top 20 – based on their combined times/scores in the first two go-rounds to advance to Saturday evening’s final round. World champions will then be determined based on their three go-round combined times/scores. Added money for the optional jackpot has increased to $100,000 and is available to everyone at finals who enters the jackpot in their event.

Again this year, the Saturday championship performance will be televised nationally as part of the Cinch High School Rodeo Tour telecast series on RFD-TV. Live broadcasts of all NJHFR performances will air on http://www.cowboychannelplus.com/. Performance times are 7:00 p.m. on June 19, and 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day thereafter.