Jesus Wins Round 2 in Sioux Falls
By: Mandi McCary
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – As the dust settled on a raucous Saturday night in Sioux Falls, 22-year old Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona) stood atop the Can-Am Cage with a humble grin spreading across his face.
The often quiet and soft-spoken young gun, who missed most of the 2020 season as he recovered from a groin injury, earned his first round win of the 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) season by winning Round 2 of the PBR Unleash The Beast, First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational.
Just one week after a triumphant win at a Touring Pro Division event in Ivins, Utah, Jesus made the 8 aboard Concealed Carry (Gene Owen/ Jerry Rush).
With a ride-score of 89.25 points, Jesus collected 28 world points to rocket from the No. 50 position in the world standings to No. 34.
“It felt good, just what I needed,” said Jesus. “I’ve been so blessed, and I am just happy to be healthy and to be at this level in the PBR. I missed this. This is what I’ve been working hard for…to be riding in front of a crowd like this on the best bulls in the world.”
Veteran Brazilian Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil) delivered a crowd-pleasing 88.75-point ride aboard Zero Time (Paradigm Bull Company) to finish second, earn 18 world points, and move up from No. 18 in the world standings to No. 16 as the night came to a close.
Heading into Round 3 on Sunday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Eguchi sits atop the overall event leaderboard with 176.75 points
2012 PRCA World Champion Cody Teel (College Station, Texas) finished third in Round 2 courtesy of his 87.25-point trip on Lil Loco (Paradigm Bull Co/Flying High Rodeo Co).
The Texas cowboy collected 17 world points and is now ranked No. 22 in the world, rising from the No. 24 position coming into Sioux Falls.
Grizzled veteran Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) made it known that he is out to finish what he started in 2020 as he battled for the world title. The No. 4-ranked bull rider in the world propelled from the chutes aboard Crazy Doc (Paradigm Bull Company) determined to make Saturday night a success. The 87-point score earned a fourth-place finish in the round and 16 world points. Vieira sits in third place for the event going into championship Sunday with 172.00 points, 4.75 points off the lead.
With Vieira’s drive for a world title at the end of the 2021 season fueling him, in the PBR world standings, he sits 279 points behind current world leader Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil). Pacheco, who was bucked off in Round 1 on Friday night, again came down early on Saturday as he was dispatched from Chilli Whap (Farris/Garcia Rodeo Bulls) in 3.66 seconds.
Fellow countryman Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5 in Round 2 after riding Tarabull (Paradigm Bull Co/ Rockin T Ranch) for 86.25 points. He collected 15 world points and moved up two spots in the world standings from the No. 17 position at the start of the event to No. 15.
While reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme didn’t put up the biggest score of the night – he rode Oney (Farris/Garcia Rodeo Bulls) for 83.5 points to come in seventh place in Round 2 – he is 2-for-2 on the weekend. He sits in fourth place with 171.75 points, 5 points off the lead and within striking distance of the event win.
South Dakota resident Matt Triplett (Canton, South Dakota), who sustained a right groin strain in Round 1 on Friday night, did not compete on Saturday night and unfortunately will not return to competition on Sunday.
The PBR Unleash The Beast First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational will continue with Round 3 and the championship round on Sunday, April 11 at 1:45 p.m. CST.
Fans can relive all the action from Round 2 in South Dakota starting on Sunday, April 11 at 8 a.m. EST on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.
PBR Unleash The Beast – PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center -Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-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
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