Flawless Kasel Wins PBR’s Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas

By: Kacie Albert

FORT WORTH, Texas – In front of a raucous, sold-out crowd at the iconic Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday evening, Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) went a perfect 2-for-2 to win the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Invitational, the 2023 season-launch event for the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour.

The Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Invitational was the third of three events held Saturday in benefit of Ouncie Mitchell’s young daughter A’nyla Allen. Mitchell, a PBR World Finals qualifier and long-time Velocity Tour rider, passed away in September.

The Austin Gamblers’ Kasel began the event in dominant fashion, delivering the first of 14 scores in the opening round of competition.

Tasked with Crossover (Shuler Bucking Bulls), Kasel conquered the powerful animal athlete for a monstrous 91 points, the first 90-point ride of the new season, as the crowd erupted in a deafening cheer.

As the last man out in the championship round courtesy of his Round 1 win, the Texan next climbed atop J&M’s Yukon (Hookin’ W Ranch). Remaining in perfect time with the bull, Kasel reached the whistle, marked 89 points to clinch the event victory.

The golden finish garnered Kasel 132 Velocity Tour points. He now leads the No. 2-ranked rider by 44 points.

Alvaro Alvarez Aguilar (La Punta Lagos Moreno Jal, Mexico) parlayed his own 2-for-2 effort into a runner-up finish, collecting 88 Velocity Tour points. Aguilar is now No. 2 in the early Velocity Tour standings.

Aguilar first put points on the board in Round 1 when he covered Pan Am (Hart Cattle Co./Hale) for 86.5 points.

Via the score, the Missouri Thunder rider punched his ticket to the championship round fifth on the event leaderboard.

The surging Mexican prepared to go head-to-head with Latch Party (FAR Bucking Bulls/Gene Baker/Hookin’ W Ranch) for his final animal athlete counterpart. In what proved a perfect pairing, Alvarez delivered his second score in as many attempts, awarded a championship round-best 89 points.

Third was the Arizona Ridge Riders’ Ross Freeman (Kountze, Texas).

After riding Whambam (Shuler Bucking Bulls) for 87 points in Round 1, Freeman bested Gangster Time (Classic Jack Cattle/Viducic Bucking Bulls) for a matching 87 points to earn the podium finish.

Freeman left Cowtown Coliseum having netted 69 Velocity Tour points. He is presently ranked No. 3 in the series standings, 63 points back of No. 1 Kasel.

As the final rider to go 2-for-2, Marcelo Procopio Pereira (Rinopolis, Brazil) was fourth, collecting 51 Velocity Tour points.

Pereira’s scores were earned atop Big Chew (Hillcrest Bulls/Gene Baker/Hookin’ W Ranch) for 86 points in Round 1 and Devaronian (Shuler Bucking Bulls) for 85.5 points in the championship round.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil).

Souza’s effort was headlined by his 88.5-point ride on Bad Decisions (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co.) in Round 1. He earned 35 Velocity Tour points.

The 2022 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour season continues Jan. 6-7 in Lexington, Kentucky, and Jan. 7 in Portland, Oregon. Action for the PBR Lexington Invitational at Rupp Arena begins at 8 p.m. EST on Friday, April 6, and 7 p.m. EST on Saturday, Jan. 7. The PBR ZipRecruiter Classic at Moda Center begins at 7:00 p.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 7.

The Ouncie Mitchell Memorial began with the Bill Picket Invitational Rodeo (BPIR), featuring nine disciplines of competition. Mitchell was a featured rider on the BPIR circuit.

The rodeo concluded with the bull riding, where the top finisher earned a berth to the evening’s Velocity Tour event. The berth was awarded to Jamarcus Whiting (Houston, Texas). During the Velocity Tour stop, Whiting was upended by Graffiti (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls) in 4.4 seconds.

The remaining discipline winners were:

• Bareback: Tre Hosley (Compton, California) – 69 points
• Ladies Breakaway Roping: Haley Mason (Anderson, Texas) – 3.4 seconds
• Junior Breakaway Roping: No Qualified Time
• Steer Wrestling: Tory Johnson (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) – 4.7 seconds
• Ladies Steer Undecorating: Stephanie Haynes (Hempstead, Texas) – 1.64 seconds
• Tie Down Roping: John Douche (Itasca, Texas) – 7.5 seconds
• Ladies Barrel Racing: Lucile Jackson (Angleton, Texas) – 14.192 seconds
• Junior Barrel Racing: Amorah Lindsey (Prairie View, Texas) – 17.383 seconds

As the day continued, the Ultimate Bullfighters (UBF) hosted an iteration of Bulls Gone Wild. Team Blue, coached by four-time PBR World Finals qualifier Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas), won. The team also included Ryan Fizer, Justin Martin, Dylan Idleman, Cy Ferguson, Ernest Brooks and Sam Marical.

Bulls Gone Wild was a precursor to the much-anticipated 2022 UBF World Finals that will take over Fort Worth and Cowtown Coliseum Dec. 1-4 and 8-10. The seven-day event will feature 24 of the world’s best freestyle bullfighters competing for $100,000 and the title of 2022 UBF World Champion.

Tickets for the 2022 UBF World Finals are on sale now and can be purchased at CowtownColiseum.com and PBR.com or through PBR Customer Service by phone at 1-800-732-1727.

Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results, and be sure to follow the league on all social media platforms at @PBR.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
PBR Ouncie Mitchell Memorial
Cowtown Coliseum – Fort Worth, Texas
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2- Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Dalton Kasel, 91-89-180.00-132 Points.
2. Alvaro Alvarez Aguilar, 86.5-89-175.50-88 Points.
3. Ross Freeman, 87-87-174.00-69 Points.
4. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 86-85.5-171.50-51 Points.
5. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 88.5-0-88.50-35 Points.
6. Ezekiel Mitchell, 88-0-88.00-29 Points.
7. Francisco Morales, 85-0-85.00-18 Points.
(tie). Justin Ethridge, 85-0-85.00-18 Points.
9. Claudio Montanha Jr., 84.5-0-84.50-13.5 Points.
(tie). Braden Richardson, 84.5-0-84.50-13.5 Points.
11. Bob Mitchell, 83-0-83.00-10 Points.
12. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 82-0-82.00-8 Points.
13. Mason Moody, 81.5-0-81.50-8 Points.
14. Kade Alberty, 76.5-0-76.50
Elijah Mora, 0-0-0.00
Dustin Martinez, 0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0.00
Aaron Williams, 0-0-0.00
Dalton Krantz, 0-0-0.00
Davi Henrique de Lima, 0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0.00
Alecio Ferreira da Costa, 0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0.00
Austin Perkins, 0-0-0.00
Wingson Henrique da Silva, 0-0-0.00
Kyle Eaton, 0-0-0.00
Ricky Aguiar, 0-0-0.00
Douglas Lino de Souza, 0-0-0.00
Robson Guedes, 0-0-0.00
Jamarcus Whiting, 0-0-0.00
Wellington Ferreira, 0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0.00
Anthony Lyons, 0-0-0.00

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