PUEBLO, Colo. – Ezekiel Mitchell, Jake Lockwood and Keyshawn Whitehorse split the Round 1 win with 87-point rides during a competitive night of bull riding Friday at the Deadwood PBR, presented by #DoDeadwood, Touring Pro Division event.
A victory in Deadwood on Saturday night would be quite helpful for Lockwood and Whitehorse as the duo are both sitting outside of the Top 35 ahead of the Unleash The Beast beginning next week in Bismarck, North Dakota, on Aug. 7-8.
Lockwood began the two-night bull riding in Deadwood with 87 points on Grandpa Albert. The 20-year-old is 40th in the world standings and a win could move him potentially as high as No. 35 depending on how No. 36 Cody Casper finishes in Deadwood. Casper finished Round 1 tied for ninth place with 83 points on Pick Me.
Lockwood takes on Magic Man (1-0, all levels) in Round 2 on Saturday night. Magic Man bucked off Austin Covington in 5.53 seconds for a 41.5-point bull score.
RELATED: Deadwood daysheet
Meanwhile, Whitehorse was one of the best riders not named Jose Vitor Leme at the Monster Energy Team Challenge (6-for-9) this summer, and he picked up right where he left off by riding Red Redemption for 87 points in his first event since the METC. The No. 48 ranked bull rider is attempting to climb up the alternate rankings, and a victory could push him as possibly 41st in the world standings.
Whitehorse has drawn Cigaretts & Beauty Queens (1-0, all levels) for Round 2.
Mitchell ended a buckoff streak of nine in a row by converting on Free Wiskey for 87 points on Friday night. The No. 23 ranked bull rider is slated to face Keno (10-5, all levels) in Round 2.
Rounding out the Top 5 in Round 1 was Cole Skender 86 points on Shake n Bake), Andrew Alvidrez (85.5 points on Touch ‘n Go) and Riker Carter (85.5 points on Steeler’s Wheel).
There were 14 qualified rides in Round 1 and the Top 10 riders in the event average will qualify for the championship round following Round 2.
Time in A Bottle bucked off No. 5 Colten Jesse in 6 seconds.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Professional Bull Riders - Deadwood PBR Presented by #DoDeadwood
Deadwood, SD, 2020 - Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points) ...
1. Ezekiel Mitchell, 87-0-0-87.00(tie). Jake Lockwood, 87-0-0-87.00(tie). Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87-0-0-87.004. Cole Skender [2], 86-0-0-86.005. Andrew Alvidrez, 85.5-0-0-85.50(tie). Riker Carter, 85.5-0-0-85.507. Gage Gay, 85-0-0-85.008. Chase Dougherty, 83.5-0-0-83.509. Joao Henrique Lucas, 83-0-0-83.00(tie). Cody Casper, 83-0-0-83.00(tie). Conner Halverson, 83-0-0-83.0012. Matt Triplett, 81-0-0-81.0013. Dalton Rudman, 80-0-0-80.0014. Kyle Jones, 78-0-0-78.00Colten Jesse, 0-0-0-0.00Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0.00Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0.00Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00Keith Hall, 0-0-0-0.00Cannon Cravens, 0-0-0-0.00Tyler Werner, 0-0-0-0.00Venn Johns, 0-0-0-0.00Ouncie Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00Andre da Cruz de Souza, 0-0-0-0.00Kache Moosman, 0-0-0-0.00Austin Covington, 0-0-0-0.00Lucas Phipps, 0-0-0-0.00Dylan Madsen, 0-0-0-0.00Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00Jake Gowdy, 0-0-0-0.00Bryce Barrios, 0-0-0-0.00Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00Koal Livingston, 0-0-0-0.00Cole Skender [1], 0-0-0-0.00Weston Hartman, 0-0-0-0.00Zac Osborne, 0-0-0-0.00Cody Hudson, 0-0-0-0.00Dylan Rice, 0-0-0-0.00