Lawrence Wins Round 1 in Billings

BILLINGS, Mont. – In the first night of the PBR’s 22^nd trip to Billings, Montana, it was a rider from neighboring North Dakota who took the spotlight. Stetson Lawrence (Williston, North Dakota) opened the weekend with a win in Round 1 of the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) Stanley Performance In Action Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, Friday night at Rimrock Auto Arena.

Lawrence covered American Sniper (Dakota Rodeo/Julie Rosen/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) for 88 points on the way to his first Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) round victory of the season, and his first since winning Round 2 in San Jose, California, last year. Lawrence has ridden four consecutive bulls since Round 2 last weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and earned 100 points toward the world standings and $4,580.

Lawrence also pocketed an extra $1,000 for covering the Tire-Rama Bonus Bull.

2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel (Kountze, Texas) finished in second place Friday night after reaching 8 seconds aboard Mystikal (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) for 87 points. It was the first time since Teel’s winning weekend in Glendale, Arizona, that he opened an event with a qualified ride. For the finish, Teel picked up 60 world points along with $2,750.

Two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, North Carolina) finished the evening in third place after an 86.75-point ride on Tequila Sunrise (Dakota Rodeo/Julie Rosen/Clay Struve/Chad Berger). Mauney’s ride earned him 50 points toward the world standings and a $2,000 paycheck.

Three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) tied with Gage Gay (Staley, North Carolina) for fourth place on the night after each recorded matching 86.5-point rides. Alves covered The Hulk (Bierema Rodeo Inc.) for his share of fourth while Gay held on to Crazy Days (Dakota Rodeo-Chad Berger/Heald Pro Bulls). Both riders took home 35 points toward the world standings along with $1,075.

Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) rounded out the Top 6 after he covered Sully (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) for 86.25 points in Round 1. Kolbaba has ridden eight of his last 10 bulls while earning 15 world points and $600 for his Friday night performance.

2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi (Itupeva, Brazil) brought himself to the precipice of history when he rode Embers (Bierema Rodeo Inc.) for 83.5 points in Round 1. The ride was the 599^th of Marchi’s career and he will potentially have up to three chances this weekend to become the first rider in PBR history to record 600 qualified rides on the Built Ford Tough Series.

The PBR’s best will battle once again in Round 2 of the Stanley Performance in Action Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires on Saturday night. Each rider will face another bull as they jockey for position heading into Championship Sunday.

The Round 2 action begins at 8:30 p.m. ET exclusively on PBR LIVE and the PBR LIVE app.

PBR Digital Editor Kristian Limas contributed to this report. 

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
Stanley Performance In Action Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires
Rimrock Auto Arena, Billings, Montana
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Stetson Lawrence, 88-0-0-0-88.00-100 Points.
2. Cody Teel, 87-0-0-0-87.00-60 Points.
3. J.B. Mauney, 86.75-0-0-0-86.75-50 Points.
4. Silvano Alves, 86.5-0-0-0-86.50-35 Points.
(tie). Gage Gay, 86.5-0-0-0-86.50-35 Points.
6. Derek Kolbaba, 86.25-0-0-0-86.25-15 Points.
7. Claudio Montanha Jr., 85.25-0-0-0-85.25-5 Points.
8. Guilherme Marchi, 83.5-0-0-0-83.50
(tie). Alex Marcilio, 83.5-0-0-0-83.50
10. Shane Proctor, 83.25-0-0-0-83.25
11. Brennon Eldred, 82.5-0-0-0-82.50
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mike Lee, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Buttar, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Koal Livingston, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Troy Wilkinson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Rodeo Tyler, 0-0-0-0-0.00
J.W. Harris, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Reese Cates, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Robson Aragao, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Emilio Resende, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Ford, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ramon Rodrigues, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0-0-0.00