On a brutal night in Charlottesville, Va., the Top 5 bull riders in the world all made the whistle on one of two bulls to maintain their respective positions in the world standings.

However, Austin Meier and Mike Lee each had an opportunity to better themselves – had it not been for mistakes.

Meier, who challenged being called for a slap in the Final Five Showdown, admitted he had slapped, but wanted to call for a review “for fun.” Lee, who won the bonus round, had an easy time of it on Alf in the first round, but said afterward that he lost track of time and reached down for his rope shy of the 8-second whistle.

“That’s what happens,” said Lee, who is fifth in the world standings. “You get to thinking, and not riding.”

J. B. Mauney, Renato Nunes and Valdiron de Oliveira all made the whistle in the opening round of the Charlottesville Invitational, and all three came down early in the bonus round.

In what looked like an instant replay of his short round wreck a week ago, Mauney came down early on Chick’n Fried, and left the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena silenced for the second time Friday night.

Mauney made head-to-head contact with enough force that Chick’n Fried knocked his helmet off. Mauney found himself draped over the right side of the bull, before falling to the dirt.

It was the third time the sports medicine team, led by Dr. Tandy Freeman, was needed inside the arena.

Travis Briscoe was nearly knocked unconscious late in the first round, and was unable to compete in the bonus round – where he was replaced by Skeeter Kingsolver. It’s the ninth time in 25 events this season that Briscoe, who is currently ninth in the world standings, has not been able to finish an event.

Early in Round 1, Ross Coleman was placed on a stretcher and carried from the arena. The veteran Oregon cowboy was diagnosed with a concussion, and left the arena on his own. He’ll spend the night being looked after by Luke Snyder and Brendon Clark.

Clark, who celebrated his 30th birthday Friday, split the round win with Kody Lostroh and Cody Nance. Listen to the post-event interview with Clark here.

Lostroh, the reigning World Champion, is competing for the second time after missing more than six months following surgery on his left shoulder and elbow, while Nance is in the hunt for what could be his second Built Ford Tough Series win of 2010.

Nance won in late July at an event in San Antonio. Lostroh won in Anaheim, Calif., prior to his 14-event absence.

The final two rounds will take place Saturday night, beginning at 7:50 p.m. ET.

NEWS AND NOTES

Live Event Center: Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event in Charlottesville, Va., by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The multimedia center provides live scoring, live photos, live blogging and event-related interviews.

— by Keith Ryan Cartwright