Davis Ruled Out for Final Rounds as Injuries Begin to Pile Up in Sioux Falls
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, the No. 2-ranked bull rider in the world, was ruled out for the remainder of the PBR First PREMIER Bank / PREMIER Bankcard Invitational this weekend after he sustained a concussion in Round 1 Friday night.
According to Dr. Tandy Freeman, Davis was injured during his 7.54-second buckoff against Secret Weapon inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Davis was already attempting to ride with an injury to his riding hand.
Davis was far from the only rider to get hurt in Sioux Falls through the first two rounds of competition.
Chase Outlaw aggravated a pre-existing right thigh injury when American Gangster bucked him off in 2.9 seconds, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the weekend. Ezekiel Mitchell also was ruled out after he aggravated a pre-existing right thigh injury as well in Round 1. Freight Train bucked Mitchell off in 2.88 seconds.
Meanwhile, Matt Triplett was ruled out on Saturday afternoon by Dr. Freeman after he strained his right groin during his 1.7-second buckoff against The Undertaker on Friday night.
It was a disappointment for Triplett, who lives in nearby Canton, South Dakota, to have to withdraw from the event.
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According to Dr. Freeman, Luciano de Castro was transported to a local hospital in Sioux Falls Saturday night after he sustained multiple injuries when Buckin for Cash bucked him off in 1.29 seconds in Round 2. Castro is being evaluated after Freeman’s initial diagnosis has him with possible right rib fractures, a partially collapsed right lung and a torn left hip adductor strain.
In other injury news, Rodrigo Melgar (bruised left free hand in Round 1) and Andrew Alvidrez (mild left shoulder [free arm] separation) returned to competition on Saturday night, but both were bucked off by their respective bulls.
Cody Jesus won Round 2 with an 89.25-point ride on Concealed Carry.
2018 World Finals event winner Marco Eguchi heads into Championship Sunday in the event lead following rides of 88 points (Monkey) and 88.75 points (Zero Time). Eguchi is one of six riders a perfect 2-for-2 in Sioux Falls: Eguchi, Cody Nance, Joao Ricardo Vieira, Jose Vitor Leme, Eduardo Aparecido and Dener Barbosa.
Fans can watch all the action from Championship Sunday on CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. ET and on RidePass at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Professional Bull Riders – PBR FIRST PREMIER BANK/PREMIER BANKCARD INVITATIONAL 4/10/2021
Sioux Falls, SD, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Marco Eguchi, 88-88.75-0-0-176.75-33.5 Points.
2. Cody Nance, 88-85-0-0-173.00-29.5 Points.
3. João Ricardo Vieira, 85-87-0-0-172.00-24 Points.
4. Jose Vitor Leme, 88.25-83.5-0-0-171.75-30.5 Points.
(tie). Eduardo Aparecido, 85.5-86.25-0-0-171.75-24.5 Points.
6. Dener Barbosa, 88-83.5-0-0-171.50-28 Points.
7. Derek Kolbaba, 89.5-0-0-0-89.50-28 Points.
8. Cody Jesus, 0-89.25-0-0-89.25-28 Points.
9. Colten Fritzlan, 88-0-0-0-88.00-15.5 Points.
10. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 87.75-0-0-0-87.75-13 Points.
11. Cody Teel, 0-87.25-0-0-87.25-17 Points.
12. Silvano Alves, 86.25-0-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
13. Andrew Alvidrez, 86-0-0-0-86.00-11 Points.
14. Chase Dougherty, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-9.5 Points.
15. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 84-0-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
16. Junior Patrik Souza, 78.25-0-0-0-78.25
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rodrigo Melgar, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Shane Proctor, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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