Mast Replacing Harris on Team Alves for Monster Energy Team Challenge

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Marcus Mast had been holding out hope that he would get a phone call for the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol. When he finally did get that call on Monday afternoon, Mast accidently hung up on a three-time World Champion.

A persistent Silvano Alves, thankfully, called Mast back immediately and asked him if he could leave for Las Vegas in two days and be ready to ride on his team at the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, on Friday.

Mast only needed five minutes to double-check with his wife before confirming to Alves he could count on him being there at the at the Pendleton Whisky Let ‘Er Buck Saloon at South Point Arena for the start of Division A play.

“I don’t have his phone number in my phone,” Mast recalled with a laugh as he was driving home from Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I was driving along and it started ringing, and I touched something that made it immediately hang up. I didn’t even see the number even yet. Just as I hung up, I seen it was an 817 number from Texas and I figured it was spam or something.

“Then my phone started ringing again and I was like, huh. He caught me by surprise. I definitely wasn’t expecting that call. I was hoping there would still be a chance that I would be getting to go. I was kind of losing the hope of it, but it definitely made my day.”

 
Alves and General Manager Jess Lockwood scrambled Monday to find a replacement for four-time PRCA champion J.W. Harris after Harris informed the PBR competition department he had to withdraw from the event because of a scheduling conflict involving his family.

Alves, the Team Captain, admitted he was caught off-guard by the news, but he is confident Mast will be a strong addition to his squad.

Mast joins 2015 PBR Brazil champion Luciano de Castro and No. 15 Mason Taylor on Alves’s squad.

Alves wanted to make sure he had a second left-handed bull rider on his squad.

“He is left-handed, and he can be used if needed,” Alves said. “I know all three guys are younger than me, but I will try to help all three guys to stay focused and ride bulls. We need to keep our heads up. Marcus can’t look outside and behind him. He needs to focus on what’s in front of him. He needs to focus on riding each bull, that’s it. He can do it. He can ride any bull. Just ride, ride, ride.”

Lockwood added, “It’s really important having someone you know is going to try their guts out every time, and now especially being in a team competition. Marcus rides good with a lot of try.”

The Monster Energy Team Challenge is going to feature 12 teams and 48 bull riders in Las Vegas at the non-public event. Each team will consist of four riders, and there will be two divisions of six teams. The Top 3 teams in each division will then qualify for Championship Weekend and a single-elimination tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 10-12 in front of fans.

Every game will be comprised of 12 collective outs, with each team attempting six bulls. Three riders per team, as selected by the General Manager, will attempt two bulls per game. The winner of each game will be the team with the top combined aggregate score from their six outs.

 
Team Alves begins the competition with a matchup against Team Jesse on Friday night.

All games of the Monster Energy Team Challenge can be watched on CBS Sports Network and RidePass. A Game of the Week will air on CBS national television every Sunday.

Mast is the No. 37-ranked bull rider in the world and is 5-for-20 (25%) on the premier series in 2020.

The Middlebury, Indiana, native works part-time building RVs during the week, and he figured this week would just be more of the same in Goshen, Indiana.

Then his plans were flipped upside down with that phone call from Alves.

Mast is humbled by the opportunity after being left off the initial list of riders selected for the Monster Energy Team Challenge.

“I guess I wasn’t not necessarily surprised, but I was kind of let down that guys didn’t think I was good enough to go with the first pick, but I also know a deal like that, you are doing to try and pick the best riders out there that you know,” Mast said.

It may not be how he initially would have liked, Mast is still thrilled to be joining his teammates in Las Vegas this weekend.

The Monster Energy Team Challenge will be something he will remember for the rest of his life, Mast explained.

It doesn’t even matter if he has to ride the bench the entire two weeks of divisional play or Championship Weekend.

“There is a chance of me not even being asked to ride,” Mast said. “I don’t care about that. I don’t care if I go out there and just be on the team. That is something for me, and my background, that this is something that will be very special to me for the rest of my life.

“It don’t matter if I do get to ride. All I want is that our team does the best that we can, and we give everything we got every bull we get on, and just have fun and do the best we can. If I have to go out there and be an alternate and sit out there and help the guys and cheer them on, maybe get them pumped up enough or whatever they need to get that 90-point ride, that will make my day. That will make the rest of my life happy.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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