Patterson Starcher Wins Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Grand Forks Chute Out Before Sold-Out Crowd
By: Jay Blasingame
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The energy from a sold-out crowd filled Alerus Center on Saturday night as Patterson Starcher (Tonganoxie, Kansas) clinched a career-first event win at the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) Grand Forks Chute Out.
As the extraordinary animal athletes of the PBR dominated all but nine of their 35 matchups throughout the opening round, the Kansas man was paired with Marlboro Man (Cuomo Bucking Bulls). Starcher’s solid Round 1 score of 84 points aboard the athletic bovine put him through to the championship round.
Starcher was then the only man to go 2-for-2 and have a flawless night as he bested Rogue One (3J Ranch) for 86.5 points in the final round of the night.
The 23-year-old cowboy leaves Grand Forks with 124.5 Velocity Global points.
Veteran Brazilian Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil) was hot on Starcher’s heels, capturing second place overall after being in the lead prior to the championship round.
As the night began, Eguchi was paired with Thunder (Topline Steel Buildings / Barret) for 87 points in Round 1, landing him atop the leaderboard before the final round.
He then set his sights on the championship round to clinch the event win, but was tossed to the ground by Younts Brody’s Pet (Farris / Platinum Bull Company) in 7.15 seconds.
Eguchi collected 78 Velocity Global points for his 1-for-2 night.
Cody McCandless (Derry, Pennsylvania) kept the 1-for-2 streak going by besting his Round 1 opponent High Pearl (Lee Bucking Stock) for 85.5 points. He was then bucked off by Big Tex (Prophet Bucking Bulls) in the championship round in a mere 2.04 seconds.
McCandless earned 54 Velocity Global points for his third-place finish.
Brandon McDowell (Hopwood, Pennsylvania) collected a fourth-place finish as the dust settled at the Alerus Center on Saturday night.
In Round 1, the Pennsylvania cowboy was matched up against Big Boy Blue (Cash Money Big Bulls) for 84 points.
His impressive ride in the opening round put him in a third-place tie on the leaderboard with Starcher headed into the final round.
Moving on to the championship round, McDowell climbed aboard John 14:6 (CIL Cattle CO). His efforts aside, the bull won this matchup, tossing him to the ground in 5.18 seconds.
After his 1-for-2 night, McDowell earned 37.5 Velocity Global points.
A pair of Missouri cowboys, Kyle Jones (Troy, Missouri) and Dakota Eagleburger (Fair Grove, Missouri) finished in a tie for fifth place at the one-night North Dakota event.
In Round 1, Jones was paired with Simp (Farris / Platinum Bull Company). Unfortunately, he was not able to make the eight, when he was bucked off at 7.76 seconds. Jones came back with a vengeance when entering the championship round, being paired with Mighty Merle (Lee Bucking Stock). He did just what he needed to do with an 83-point ride.
Eagleburger came in hot to the first round of the evening when he went jump-for-jump with Buckle Up (Mason Bucking Bulls) scoring 83 points for a fifth-place finish in the opening round. Coming into the championship round, he was set to ride One Boot Patches (Topline Steel Building / Barrett). Unfortunately for Eagleburger, the impressive bovine athlete tossed him off in 4.35 seconds.
For their efforts, Jones earned 32.5 Velocity Global points, and Eagleburger earned 29.5.
The talented bull riders of the PWVT will next head to Wichita, Kansas, for the PBR Wichita Invitational at the INTRUST Bank Arena on Apr. 22.
Professional Bull Riders – GRAND FORKS CHUTE OUT
Grand Forks, North Dakota – Alerus Center
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Patterson Starcher, 84-86.5-170.50-124.5 Points.
2. Marco Eguchi, 87-0-87.00-78 Points.
3. Cody McCandless, 85.5-0-85.50-54 Points.
4. Brandon McDowell, 84-0-84.00-37.5 Points.
5. Kyle Jones, 0-83-83.00-32.5 Points.
(tie). Dakota Eagleburger, 83-0-83.00-29.5 Points.
7. Dakota Warnken, 82.5-0-82.50-20 Points.
8. Bill Henry, 82-0-82.00-17 Points.
(tie). Kyle Eaton, 82-0-82.00-17 Points.
10. Anthony Lyons, 76.5-0-76.50-12 Points.
11. Garrett Jones, 51.5-0-51.50-3 Points.
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0.00
Grayson Cole [1], 0-0-0.00
Grayson Cole [2], 0-0-0.00
Mason Moody, 0-0-0.00
Griffin Smeltzer, 0-0-0.00
Jake Morinec, 0-0-0.00
Casey Coulter, 0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0.00
Elijah Mora, 0-0-0.00
Dustin Martinez [1], 0-0-0.00
Dustin Martinez [2], 0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0.00
Dustin Herman, 0-0-0.00
Matt Allgood, 0-0-0.00
Joe Alejos, 0-0-0.00
Trace Brown, 0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0.00
Bennie Shetler, 0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0.00
Max Castro, 0-0-0.00
Billy Stephenson, 0-0-0.00
Tell Jacobs, 0-0-0.00
Brylee Smith, 0-0-0.00
Trace Redd, 0-0-0.00
Treven Coonradt, 0-0-0.00
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
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