Gaining altitude

Friday, Dec. 1, 2000 | 10:39 a.m.

In terms of pure historical significance, this year's $4.5 million National Finals Rodeo will have to go a long way to match last year's event, in which Fred Whitfield became the first black world champion All-Around Cowboy in professional rodeo history.

But Scott Johnston, the man favored to unseat Whitfield as the All-Around champion, hopes to inject more than a little drama into the 42nd annual NFR, which begins its 10-day, sold-out run tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Johnston, a 27-year Australian native who lives in Gustine, Texas, is poised to reach pro rodeo's pinnacle just 25 months after escaping a small-plane crash near Lodi, Calif.

"I just thank God," Johnston said of his third appearance at the NFR. "I hope he keeps blessing me and things keep working out."

Johnston was on a single-engine Cessna with four other people heading from Bozeman, Mont., to San Francisco in November 1998 when the plane apparently ran out of fuel and crashed in a field near Lodi.

Also traveling on the plane were top rodeo competitors Marvin Garrett, his younger brother Mark Garrett, and Thad Bothwell.

Johnston suffered a back injury in the crash that required him to have his fourth and fifth vertebrae fused together, but he returned to the rodeo circuit last year and finished the season as the fifth-leading saddle bronc rider in the world.

Even in those terrifying moments leading up to the crash, Johnston said he never doubted that he would live to ride again.

"I never thought that," he said. "I always try to think when something bad happens, something good usually comes out of it. It brought me closer to God. I just kept praying and I knew that He would help me get back."

Johnston dominated the saddle bronc riding the last half of this season and placed consistently in the bareback riding to lead the world All-Around standings with more than $164,000 -- $11,298 ahead of second-place Trevor Brazile.

Whitfield, who leads the calf roping standings, stands fourth in the All-Around, a little more than $30,000 behind Johnston.

With go-rounds paying more than $13,000 and the average paying more than $33,000, any one of the top 15 contestants in each of seven events could walk away with the world title.

This year's closest battle is in steer wrestling, where Rod Lyman of Victor, Mont., holds a slim $154 lead over Teddy Johnson of Checotah, Okla. Lyman, who is making his 13th appearance at the NFR, knows what it takes to win.

"When you get to Thomas and Mack, that small arena, you kind of got to let it roll every night and see how it shakes out after 10 days," he said.

Another tight race is shaping up in bareback riding, where James Boudreaux of Cuero, Texas, holds a tenuous $1,888 lead over second-place Larry Sandvick of Kaycee, Wyo.

Reigning world champion Whitfield returns to Las Vegas ranked first in calf roping by a narrow $2,739 over Blair Burk.

The bull riding world championship also features a close race, with Tyler Fowler of Theodore, Ala., leading Shane Drury of Weatherford, Okla., by a mere $8,356.

In barrel racing, 10-time world champion Charmayne James comes into her 17th NFR back on top of the standings with an $11,534 lead over reigning world champion Sherry Cervi.