SPOKANE, Wash. – In front of a sellout crowd of more than 12,000 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Alex Santana (Chowchilla, California) rode his way to victory with a perfect 2-for-2 night at the first ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Spokane Classic. The victory was the first of the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) season for Santana.

After covering his Round 1 draw CWZ-W400 (Wentz Bucking Bulls/Aces Wild Pro Rodeo) for 80.5 points and squeaking into the championship round, Santana had his work cut out for him.

As the second rider in the 10-man championship round, the Chowchilla cowboy covered the aptly-named Bottle Rocket (Corey & Lange Rodeo), who rocketed from the chutes, for 83.5 points and the event win.

With the win and the 34 world points earned, Santana rocketed more than 100 spots up the world rankings, and is now No. 34 in the standings. Along with the world points, the Californian took home $6,250. As the Spokane Classic champion, Santana earned an automatic bid to the elite Unleash The Beast event, Iron Cowboy, in Los Angeles February 7-9.

PBR veteran and Summerville, Oregon, native Cody Campbell stood alone in second place after the dust settled in the arena. A 79-point effort in Round 1 aboard Long Haired Outlaw (Wentz Bucking Bulls/Aces Wild Pro Rodeo) snuck Campbell into the ninth spot in the championship round.

Tequila (Corey & Lange Rodeo) treated the Oregonian well in the championship round, and the two combined for an 84-point round-winning ride.

Campbell took home $5,150 for the second-place finish, and earned 27 world points. He now sits in a three-way tie for the No. 39 spot in the world standings.

The third-place finisher was Matt Werries (Jacksonville, Illinois). After dominating Round 1 with the highest-marked ride of the night – 85-points aboard Boy Wonder (Corey & Lange Rodeo) – Werries hit the dirt in 3.11 seconds in the championship round as Lone Wolf (Wentz Bucking Bulls/Aces Wild Pro Rodeo) proved too much to handle.

Werries earned $3,300 and 17 world points for his third-place finish, and the Illinois man is now inside the Top 100 in the world.

Pedro Fonseca (Itapui, Brazil) was the highest-finishing Brazilian at the event. Going 1-for-2 on the night, Fonseca took home second place in Round 1 aboard Nitro (Corey & Lange Rodeo), as he was marked 84.5-points.

The Brazilian cowboy was tossed to the ground before the 8 second whistle in the championship round, as Montana Moon (Wentz Bucking Bulls/Aces Wild Pro Rodeo) dispatched him in 7 seconds.

Fonseca earned a payday of $2,300 on the night, and 10 world points.

Rounding out the Top 5 was local favorite Cody Casper (Newport, Washington). Casper had fans on their feet in Round 1 as he conquered War Cry (Wentz Bucking Bulls/Aces Wild Pro Rodeo) for 83 points and a tie for third.

The championship round didn’t go the local’s way, when in 5.28 seconds Captain Obvious (Corey & Lange Rodeo) bucked him off.

For his efforts the home state cowboy took home $906.67 and five world points.

Fans can re-live every out from the 2020 Spokane Classic on RidePass.com or on the RidePass mobile app starting at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday, January 26.

The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour returns to action on Saturday, February 1, with events in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Professional Bull Riders Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
Spokane Classic
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena – Spokane, Washington
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Alex Santana, 80.5-83.5-164.00-34 Points.
2. Cody Campbell, 79-84-163.00-27 Points.
3. Matt Werries, 85-0-85.00-17 Points.
4. Pedro Fonseca, 84.5-0-84.50-10 Points.
5. Cody Casper, 83-0-83.00-5 Points.
(tie). Dakota Louis, 83-0-83.00-5 Points.
(tie). River Stephenson, 83-0-83.00-5 Points.
8. Luis Blanco, 82.5-0-82.50-1 Points.
9. Ricky Aguiar, 81-0-81.00-1 Points.
10. Brady Oleson, 78-0-78.00
11. Joseph McConnel, 75.5-0-75.50
Carlos Gomes Junior, 0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0.00
Zac Harris, 0-0-0.00
Dylan Madsen, 0-0-0.00
J.T. Pettitt, 0-0-0.00
Laramie Craigen, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Covington, 0-0-0.00
Dalton Rudman, 0-0-0.00
Scottie Knapp, 0-0-0.00
Albert Lebaron, 0-0-0.00
Weston Hartman, 0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0.00
Cody Ibrahimi, 0-0-0.00
Javier Garcia, 0-0-0.00
Max Castro, 0-0-0.00
Luis Escobedo, 0-0-0.00
Anthony Hopen, 0-0-0.00
Jesse Borland, 0-0-0.00
Aaron Williams, 0-0-0.00
J.T. Stevens, 0-0-0.00
Isaac Gutierrez, 0-0-0.00
Cody Loomis, 0-0-0.00
Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0.00
Ricardo Ramirez, 0-0-0.00
Trevor Easton, 0-0-0.00
Kaimi Andres-Kamakau, 0-0-0.00
Austin Covington, 0-0-0.00
Cody Miller, 0-0-0.00