Fritzlan takes Roughy Top Gun crown

Bull rider Colten Fritzlan has lived in Fallon, Nev., for a year and a half, so it was an easy drive to compete at the Roughy Top Gun Invitational presented by the City of Fallon.  

“It’s not really a hometown rodeo for me, but it’s a cool event,” said Fritzlan, 25, of Rifle, Colo. “This is my first (Rank 45) Xtreme Bulls buckle, and it was pretty cool to win my first one here in Fallon. 

“The buckles mean a lot. I’ve been close a couple times of winning a Rank 45 Xtreme Bulls Tour buckle, but never achieved it quite yet until (Wednesday).”  

It’s a full-circle moment for the fourth-generation rodeo cowboy, who won the National Finals Rodeo average in his only appearance in 2020, the same year he won the Resistol Rookie of the Year title. He finished that campaign third in the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings, then finished 21st the next year after winning The American Rodeo in Arlington, Texas, just across the street from his triumphant NFR during the Finals one-year hiatus during the COVID pandemic.  

He shied away from PRORODEO for a few years. He still rode bulls competitively, but he longed for the way of life the sport provides. 

“This year, I’m just focused on rodeoing and doing the best I can,” he said. “It’s not just rodeoing but staying on bulls and making every single one of them count this year.  

“I have missed the rodeo side of it. I rodeoed all last year, and I really enjoyed it. I feel like I was able to see family back home a lot more rodeoing, and my daughter, Lena, went a handful of times to some rodeos. She really enjoyed the atmosphere of rodeoing.”  

She was with him when he won the New Year’s Eve title, too. With his 4-year-old child in the stands, Fritzlan won the opening round with an 87.5-point ride on Western Rodeo’s Uh-oh, then was one of just two to ride in the championship, matching moves with Four Star Rodeo’s Westec Joe for 86.5 points to win the aggregate title. He finished with $12,420 in earnings.  

“I’ve made it an expectation that I want to have winning performances in short rounds and those two-headers,” Fritzlan said. “Obviously, you’ll get more money won, but what you’re there for is to stay on what they run underneath you. 

“This is a good way to end the year and start the new year. We’re thankful that we had Lena down there with us. It was a really cool night.”