Teel Cracks Top 10 with 15/15 Win and Impressive Billings Weekend

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Could another rider be in contention for a world title?

Well, that may be hard with the way the dominant world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme is riding currently, but 2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel is the latest man to try and throw his hat into the gold-buckle ring.

Teel won the 15/15 Bucking Battle at the PBR Wrangler Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, with a season-best, 91.25-point ride on Ridin Solo. He went a combined 4-for-5 in Billings, Montana, finishing third overall, to surge to No. 7 in the world standings.

“I had to be loose and just be riding,” Teel told CBS Sports Kate Harrison. “You can’t quit on that bull (Ridin Solo). You have to hang loose, and it felt great.”

The 28-year-old was also nearly poised for an event win inside MetraPark Arena following his 90.25-point ride on Strange Cargo in the championship round Sunday until 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco rode Trail of Tears for 87.5 points and Leme rode Diddy Wa Diddy for 93.25 points to earn the event win.

“You have to reset,” Teel told Harrison about bouncing back from his Round 3 buckoff against Total Feeds Bushwacked (2.9 seconds). “I had a really good pick, and I had the bull I wanted second overall, and I am just glad it all worked out.”

Teel was able to select Strange Cargo with the sixth pick in the championship-round draft to propel him to a third-place finish overall this weekend. Teel jumped up 11 spots in the world standings, and he trails Leme by 672.50 points.

The College Station, Texas, bull rider hadn’t posted two 90-point rides in the same event since the 2018 PBR World Finals. His last 15/15 Bucking Battle victory was on October 7, 2017, in Nampa, Idaho, with an 87.25-point ride on Beaver Creek Beau.

Teel began his Billings weekend with 85.5 points on Ghost Dancer before converting on Wooden Nickels for 86 points in Round 2 on Saturday.

 
“I had to do a little more riding and a little less sitting,” Teel told Harrison on Saturday night during Round 2. “That is the name of the game. You have to let loose and ride. I was able to cut loose. He kept pulling me around underneath the feet, and a little luck never hurts either.”

Teel now has back-to-back Top-5 finishes in the last two events ahead of next weekend’s Bad Boy Mowers Invitational, presented by Union Home Mortgage, in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 22-23.

Professional Bull Riders – PBR WRANGLER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES 15/15 BUCKING BATTLE
Billings, MT, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Cody Teel, 91.25-91.25-59 Points.
2. Kaique Pacheco, 91-91.00-49 Points.
3. Dener Barbosa, 90-90.00-44 Points.
Jose Vitor Leme, 0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0.00

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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