RENO -- Bareback rider Tanner Aus, from Granite Falls, Minn., is on a roll and he is doing everything he can to keep his momentum going.

Last week he was competing at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper, Wyo., representing Missouri Valley College. This week he is at the Reno Rodeo, trying to improve his standings in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He was so successful at the CNFR that he left with National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association championship. This was his third qualification for the CNFR for Aus who is a junior.

He is currently 26th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and hoping to improve that at the Reno Rodeo. He was the high-marked rider here on Tuesday night with an 81-point effort on Western Rodeo’s Scar Face. That is currently sixth in the first round and if he remains in the top eight he will get a check. However, his biggest concern is to get another big score here on Wednesday. If he does that his cumulative total should put him in the top twelve bareback riders that qualify for Saturday night’s finals.

Aus was joined by three other college champions in the bareback riding. J.R. Vezain who won the 2011 bareback riding and Winn Ratliff who was the 2011 all-around along with Ty Breuer who was the bareback champion in 2010 all competed in the fifth performance. Two time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Matt Bright had the second highest score at 80. Vezain was 78, Ratliff had a 76 and Breuer was 75. They all need big scores tomorrow to be here on Saturday.

Someone that is already making her plans for the finals is Molly Powell from Stephenville, Texas. Riding a new horse, Powell took the lead in the first round with a 17.51-second time. She came back during the performance and stopped the clock in 17.36 seconds. She is now in third place in the overall standings with a 34.87 total.

Jerrad Hofstetter who won the tie-down roping at last year’s Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is now second in the overall standings here. He had times of 7.9 and 9.1 seconds and has a total of 17.0.

There was one qualified ride in the bull riding and it was a good one. Chris Roundy from Spanish Fork, Utah, is the 11th man here so far to last eight seconds. HE scored 82 points on a bull from Big Bend Rodeo with the 828 brand.

The sixth performance begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are available at www.renorodeo.com or by calling 800-325-7328. For more information, please call 775-329-3877.