Joby Allen chooses to look straight ahead when it comes to competing for the steer wrestling title in the Central Plains Region.

“I don’t keep tabs on them,” he said of the standings, where he sits third with two events left on the region season. “I take every rodeo one rodeo at a time.”

It may be cliché, but that approach has allowed the Alva cowboy to focus on the tasks at hand. He has accumulated 440 points this season and is behind two Northwestern Oklahoma State University teammates: Cody Devers of Perryton, Texas, leads the race to the title with 490, while Colten Madison of Whiting, Iow...