LAS VEGAS – Ouncie Mitchell spent countless hours during the spring and summer on his 18-foot Key West Center Console boat somewhere in south Texas fishing for redfish.

One of Mitchell’s favorite hobbies also was one of his best escapes during the nearly six months he had to sit out this season because of a broken right leg he sustained on March 16 at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Wheeling, West Virginia.

“I knew my time was coming, and when I would supposed to be at a bull riding, I would go fishing,” Mitchell said. “That is what kept me relaxed. Fishing. I probably went four times a week. I couldn’t tell you, but I caught a bunch.

“When I go fishing, it is just relaxing to clear my mind. I don’t think about bull riding when I am fishing. I really didn’t want to think about it because the more I thought about it the more I would start itching to come back. I tried to come back early at one point and it showed me I had to sit down and wait.”

As hard as it was for Mitchell to miss so much of 2019, he never gave up on his dream of qualifying for the 2019 PBR World Finals with his cousin, Ezekiel Mitchel.

Ouncie knew he could make a late push at the World Finals when he finally returned to competition on Sept. 4 in Window Rock, Arizona.

“Everybody asked me, ‘Do you think you’re going to be able to win?’ I said, ‘There’s nothing to it. I’m going to win,’” Mitchell said.

Mitchell may not have won the 2019 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, nor did the weekend go exactly as he would have liked with two buckoffs, but the 24-year-old got end result he wanted.

The Fresno, Texas, bull rider will be competing at the 2019 PBR World Finals beginning on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Mitchell earned one of five wild card berths to the World Finals courtesy of his No. 8 finish in the Velocity Tour standings.

Seeing as the Top 5 riders in the event average at the Velocity Tour Finals had already qualified for the World Finals via the world standings or Velocity standings, the final two wild card berths came from the Velocity Tour standings as well.

Mitchell and No. 9 Daniel Tinsman got the final two spots.

“That’s been my goal since the beginning of the year,” Mitchell said. “I hit a speed bump and broke my leg, but still made it.”

Tinsman also overcame a significant injury to make the World Finals. Tinsman tore ligaments in his right knee at the Toledo, Ohio, Velocity event on Jan. 12 and eventually underwent what he thought would be season-ending knee surgery in April.

However, the 23-year-old decided to come back to competition ahead of schedule on Aug. 30. It has not been a smooth return as he went 0-for-5 in four events before going 1-for-2 this weekend, but he can now take pride in knowing he has made his first World Finals.

No. 3 Ramon de Lima and No. 6 Austin Richardson earned the first two World Finals qualification spots from the Velocity Tour standings.

PBR Brazil’s Leandro Machado (86.5 points on Hot Spots) earned the international wild card berth.

Mitchell was standing uneasily at the top of the concourse during the championship round on Sunday.

The Texan knew he was in contention for one of the spots, but had to sweat out what Kache Moosman and Richardson would do in the championship round.

Mitchell eventually let out a sigh of relief when he was told he made the World Finals.

“Sounds great,” he replied.

If Ouncie was relieved, his cousin was stoked.

“That’s my cousin!” Ezekiel yelled.

The two relatives finished first and second at the first Velocity Tour event of the year in Ontario, California, on Nov. 17, and made a pact then to make the World Finals together.

Now, almost one year later, that goal is officially accomplished.

“We went first and second, so we told each other we were going to keep it that way,” Ouncie said. “I kept riding. He kept riding. I broke my femur.

“Not the way I wanted to make it, but I made it.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko