Meged, Webb on Track to Break NFR Aggregate Record

Meged, Webb on Track to Break Decade-Old NFR Aggregate Record

As the 2023 NFR comes to a close, world championships and average records both are on the line.

Haven Meged and Riley Webb are set to break the NFR aggregate record set in 2013 by Shane Hanchey.

The record stands at 80.1 seconds across 10 rounds, set the year Hanchey won the tie-down World Championship. This would mark the third significant record topped in the 2023 season—Webb broke the single season earnings record with $388,962 won, (with final earnings still to be determined), and Meged broke the NFR arena record of 6.5 seconds in Round 7, when he roped and tied his calf in 6.4 seconds.

6.4! Haven Meged Breaks NFR Tie-Down Arena Record While Hunting for World Championship

What Meged and Webb have to do in Round 10

With a time of 68.70 seconds on nine head, Meged has to rope his Round 10 calf in 11.3 seconds to defeat the record. With a time of 72.0 seconds on nine head, Webb has to rope his Round 10 calf in 8.0 seconds to defeat the record.

The fastest average claims the record, of course, so if Meged ropes in less than11.3 seconds in Round 10, Webb will need to rope in 8.0 seconds minus the time Meged was able to shave off the 11.3.

For example, if Meged ropes in 10.0 seconds, Webb would have to rope in 6.7 seconds. (The fastest Webb has roped in the Thomas & Mack so far is 6.9 seconds).

. The faster Meged manages to go, the less likely it will be for Webb to be the record-breaker. But wilder things have happened in Round 10 at the NFR, including Trevor Brazile figure-eight-ing the tail in 2015 to open the door for Caleb Smidt to win his then-second world championship.

World champion context

Webb is sitting in the driver’s seat for the world championship, on track to surpass the $450,000 mark. (The current season earnings record stands at $374,737, set by Smidt in 2022.)

He’s currently No. 2 in the average, which would pay $63,889 andput Webb at $452,851.

Challenger Meged has his work cut out for him, currently sitting at $332,515 in earnings and headed toward collecting the No. 1 average payday of $78,747, putting him at $411,262.

If the NFR ended after Round 9:

Riley Webb would be the 2023 World Champion and No. 2 in the average with $452,851
Haven Meged would be No. 2 in the world and No. 1 in the NFR average with $411,262

If Meged has a chance to defeat Webb for the world championship, he needs Webb to fall out of average contention in Round 10, negating his $63,889 paycheck. Meged would need to rope cleanly to secure his No. 1 average check, and (if Meged didn’t pull a Round 10 check) he would finish $22,300 ahead of Webb.

Records and world standings analysis is supported by Rattler Rope, the top choice of tie-down ropers.