Sellars Leads Round 1 After First Night of Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Denver PBR Chute Out
By: Mandi McCary
DENVER – As night one of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s (PWVT) Denver PBR Chute Out at the National Western Stock Show came to a close on Monday night, Clayton Sellars (Fruitland Park, Florida) leads the round.
23-year-old Sellars had fans inside the Denver Coliseum cheering early in the Round 1 action as he fired out of the chutes paired with Another Lunatic (Frihauf Cattle Co). His smooth ride on his bovine opponent landed the young Floridian the highest ride score of the night at 89.5 points.
The three-day event in Denver showcases a unique format for PWVT fans. The draw features 90 riders competing in Round 1, which will involve riders split into two groups across the first two nights of competition.
On Monday night, 45 riders each attempted one bull. Round 1 will then conclude on Tuesday with the remaining 45 riders who did not compete Monday attempting one bull each.
For Round 2 on Wednesday, the Top 30 riders from Round 1 will return to each face one bull. The 15 bull riders with the top combined ride scores following the first two rounds will advance to the final championship round on Wednesday night.
Fourteen riders thus far have advanced to Round 2.
Not far behind Sellars in the chase to dominate Round 1 was Montana cowboy Jake Lockwood (Volborg, Montana), now sitting in the second-place spot as the round advances.
Lockwood climbed aboard Next Question (Nothin’ But Try Ranch/ Diggers Bucking Bulls) and, despite being slammed hard to the ground as the clock hit 8 seconds, he collected an 88.5-point score.
Idaho’s Wylee Hurst (Rigby, Idaho) clinched third place with his 87-point ride aboard Pillow Drift (Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger).
Showcasing Texas-sized talent as one of the first qualified rides of the night, 30-year-old Lane Nobles (West, Texas) conquered Hard Times (Frontier Rodeo). His ride score of 86.5 points landed him in fourth place on the leaderboard.
Rounding out the Top 5 of the night was Canadian cowboy Ashton Sahli (Red Deer, Canada), who was paired with Touch ‘N Go (Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) to receive an 86-point ride score.
The Denver PBR Chute Out will continue at the National Western Stock Show as another field of 45 riders competes in the continuation of Round 1 on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. MST.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) – Denver PBR Chute Out
National Western Stock Show – Denver, Colorado
Name, Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points
1. Clayton Sellars, 0-89.5-0-0-89.50
2. Jake Lockwood, 0-88.5-0-0-88.50
3. Wylee Hurst, 0-87-0-0-87.00
4. Lane Nobles, 0-86.5-0-0-86.50
5. Ashton Sahli, 0-86-0-0-86.00
6. Cole Skender, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50
7. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-85-0-0-85.00
(tie). Stetson Lawrence, 0-85-0-0-85.00
(tie). Grayson Cole, 0-85-0-0-85.00
10. Dalton Krantz, 0-84.5-0-0-84.50
11. Wyatt Rogers, 0-84-0-0-84.00
12. Griffin Smeltzer, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50
13. Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-79.5-0-0-79.50
14. Jesse Tillman, 0-75-0-0-75.00
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