LAS VEGAS – Lindsay Sears won the seventh round of barrel racing with a 13.71-second run Wednesday night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to take the lead in the world standings.

Sears, the defending world champion from Nanton, Alberta, has won an event-best $80,813 to push her season total to $222,031. Brittany Pozzi of Victoria, Texas, the 2007 world champion who didn’t place among the top six with a time of 19.07, dropped to second place with $210,324.

Sears, who has placed among the top six in all seven rounds, also is first in the aggregate score race with a time of 97.11 over seven rounds.

“I have never had a plan for the average,” Sears said. “I always figure it will take care of itself if you do well taking each run at a time. The average does play a major role in the end, but we have to go at it one run at a time, and that is what I concentrate on.”

In steer wrestling, two-time world champion Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif., won his second consecutive round, finishing in 3.8 seconds, to take over the world standings lead with $182,493, the aggregate score top spot with a time of 28.2 over seven rounds and the NFR earnings lead with $69,940.

“I’m going to go at these last three rounds one at a time, like they’re three one-headers, and knowing that you’ve got to win money every round to have a chance at a world championship,” Branquinho said. “That’s how I am going to look at it; just go win as much as I can each go-round.”

Lee Graves of Calgary, Alberta, who led in the aggregate score, NFR earnings and world standings races after six rounds, fell to second in world earnings with $179,340, in NFR earnings with $58,767 and in the aggregate with a time of 34.1.

Graves, who didn’t place with a time of 11.6, was followed in the world standings by third-place Jake Rinehart of Highmore, S.D., with $148,316, and fourth-place Curtis Cassidy of Donalda, Alberta, with $125,792.

In bareback riding, world standings leader Clint Cannon of Waller, Texas, ended a five-round streak of not finishing in the top six and not collecting a paycheck when he tied for first with D.V. Fennell of Neosho, Mo. with a score of 84.5 on Mad Money. Fennell, a 36-year-old NFR rookie, rode Brother.

Cannon, who set a PRCA record in 2009 for most regular-season money won in any event with $233,504, increased his world standings total to $251,243. Bobby Mote of Culver was second with $216,643, including an NFR best $46,304.

Mote, sixth with an 82 on RD Mercer, had the aggregate score lead with 587.5 points on seven rides compared to second-place Kaycee Field and Jason Havens with 579 points each on seven rides.

In team roping, header Derrick Begay of Seba Dalkai, Ariz., and heeler Cesar de la Cruz of Tucson, Ariz., won in 3.6 seconds. World heeler leader Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev., and header leader Chad Masters of Clarksville, Texas, tied for fourth in 4.6. Masters has earned $149,864 and Corkill has made $140,393 in 2009.

In saddle bronc riding, 46-year-old Billy Etbauer of Edmond, Okla., a five-time world champion, won with a 90 on Son of Sadie. Standings leader Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, Mont., placed second with an 86 on Rainmaker. In his first NFR appearance, Kruse has earned $169,309 for 2009 following his fourth NFR paycheck, while J.J. Elshere of Quinn, S.D., was second with $135,928.

In tie-down roping, Cody Ohl of Hico, Texas, and Hunter Herrin of Apache, Okla., tied for first in 7.1 seconds. Tuf Cooper of Decatur, Texas, who placed sixth in 7.8, held on to the aggregate score lead with a time of 59.2 over seven rounds.

Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, who didn’t place among the top six, remained the world standings leader with $166,227. Clint Robinson of Spanish Fork, Utah, who finished out of the money in round seven, was second in the world standings with $129,698.

In bull riding, Corey Navarre of Weatherford, Okla., won for the second straight round, scoring 88 points on Black Gold. The win, worth $17,139, moved Navarre from third to second in the world with $149,010.

Bobby Welsh of Gillette, Wyo., who is the only rider besides Navarre to cover four of his seven bulls, fell to second behind Navarre, who has 320 points on four bulls, in the aggregate race with 315 points.

Navarre, who has earned an NFR event-best $43,125, trails world leader and defending champion J.W. Harris of May, Texas, by $70,265 in the world standings. Harris is now out of the NFR with a fractured right hand after missing two earlier rounds.

Only four of the 15 bull riders covered in round seven, and the bulls have now won 78 of the 103 matchups.

In all-around, Brazile had $324,664 and remained in first place in his bid for his seventh world title. He has exceeded $300,000 for a record four years in a row. Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo., was second with $186,370, and Robinson fell to third with $181,915.