Alva Review-Courier -

LAS VEGAS – The hunt for the 2016 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Bull Riding World Championship came down to the 10th and final round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) on Saturday night, when SWOSU Rodeo alum Sage Kimzey scored 83.0 points on his final ride to finish third in the average while securing his third straight World Championship.

Kimzey made the eight-second whistle on six out of the ten bulls he rode during the Wrangler NFR, winning the first round with 86.5 points while finishing second or third in rounds three, six and ten. His total score of 501.0 points on six head placed him third in the average behind Shane Proctor (590.0/7) and Brennon Eldred (509.5/6), but Kimzey built enough of a lead during the rest of the season to hold the duo off and win his third Gold Buckle with yearly earnings of $311,451.27.

A member of the Bulldog Rodeo team from 2012-14, Kimzey advanced to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) twice at SWOSU and he finished as the National Runner-up in 2014. In December of 2014, he became just the second bull rider to win the Rookie of the Year and Gold Buckle in the same season and this year he takes an unprecedented step as the first SWOSU Rodeo alum to become a three-time world champion, doing so in his third season of professional competition.

"Congratulations to Sage for another amazing year, capped off with his performance at the NFR," SWOSU Rodeo Coach Mike Visnieski said. "We are extremely proud of him and all the accomplishments he has earned in his young career."

Other past Bulldogs to win world championships include Lee Graves in Steer Wrestling (2005, 2009), Eric Mouton in Bareback (1997) and Mark Gomes in Bareback (1998).