COLUMBIA, S.C. – Headlined by a championship round-best 8-second effort, Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil) won his career-first PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Columbia, South Carolina, victorious at the league’s second iteration of the Carolina Classic at Colonial Life Arena.

Despite bucking off Mike’s Effect (Blake Sharp) in Round 1 in 4.21 seconds, Souza was determined to leave the Palmetto State with nothing less than a golden finish.

Souza, who advanced on time, then faced Dang It (Davis Rodeo Ranch/Ed & Cindy Fogle) in the championship round. Poised, the 26-year-old Brazilian contender matched his bovine athlete opponent jump-for-jump en route to an event-best 89.5-point score.

For his efforts, Souza left the campus of the University of South Carolina having earned 37 world points. He rose from No. 51 to No. 41 in the race for the 2021 PBR World Championship.

Compliments of a sixth-place finish, Michael Lane (Tazewell, Virginia) extended his lead atop the standings in the race for the 2021 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship, now 30.5 points ahead of No. 2 Austin Richardson (Stephenville, Texas).

Lane, who went 1-for-2, covering Easy Rider (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 82.5 points in Round 1, earned 4 world points.

Second was Round 1 winner Fernando Henrique Novais (Pereira Barreto, Brazil), netting 27 world points.

Novais was propelled to the silver finish after covering Loaded Weapon (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 87 points in the opening round.

His hopes of victory, however, were dashed by The Beast (Yount Bucking Bulls, LLC) in the championship round when the animal athlete dispatched Novais in a quick 4.04 seconds.

Marcos Gloria (Central de Minas, Brazil) finished third at the Carolina Classic compliments of an 86.5-point ride on Money Maker (Mason Bucking Bulls) in Round 1.

The 31-year-old earned 14 world points.

In fourth was Joseph McConnel (Bloomfield, New Mexico), collecting 9 world points.

The New Mexico contender was propelled to his third Top-5 finish in as many efforts in 2021 compliments of an 84-point ride atop All Business (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) in Round 1.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Axel Palacios (Aguascalientes, Mexico), marking his career-best finish across all levels of competition in the league.

The result was earned compliments of an 83.5-point ride on Crooked Teeth (Halpain Bucking Bulls) in Round 1.

In the bull pen, Mule Train (Rickey West Bucking Bulls) was the high-marked bull of the event, delivering an event-best 44.5-point score in Round 1 for his 3.09-second buckoff of Grayson Cole (New Ringgold, Pennsylvania).

The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Carolina Classic was also a stop on the 2021 Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge.

Halpain Bulls won the performance with 275.69 points courtesy of the trips notched by Soldier Boy, Axle Surgeon and Black Cadillac.

Second place was Pick-it Hammers with 274.81 points, while Mason Bucking Bulls was third with 269.26 points. Pick-it Hammers’ team included Freakin Wicked, Hammered Down and Dang It, while the bronze effort from Mason Bucking Bulls was earned courtesy of outs recorded by Dirty Blonde, Money Maker and Accelerator.

The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Springfield, Massachusetts, and MassMutual Center on August 13-14. Action gets underway with Round 1 at 6:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 13, followed by Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, August 14 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – Carolina Classic
Colonial Life Arena – Columbia, South Carolina
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-89.5-89.50-37 Points.
2. Fernando Henrique Novais, 87-0-87.00-27 Points.
3. Marcos Gloria, 86.5-0-86.50-14 Points.
4. Joseph McConnel, 84-0-84.00-9 Points.
5. Axel Palacios, 83.5-0-83.50-6 Points.
6. Michael Lane, 82.5-0-82.50-4 Points.
7. Jake Morinec, 81-0-81.00-3 Points.
Grayson Cole, 0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast [1], 0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast [2], 0-0-0.00
Rodrigo Melgar, 0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0.00
Eli Byler, 0-0-0.00
Seth White, 0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0.00
Kane Taylor, 0-0-0.00
Eduardo de Oliveira [1], 0-0-0.00
Eduardo de Oliveira [2], 0-0-0.00
Matt Oliver, 0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0.00
Lindomar Lino, 0-0-0.00
Allen Burkholder, 0-0-0.00
Eli Miller, 0-0-0.00
Elijah Lankford, 0-0-0.00
J.C. Tennant, 0-0-0.00
Paulo Souza Rodriguez, 0-0-0.00
Eduardo Perez, 0-0-0.00
Joseph Petersheim, 0-0-0.00
Matt Allgood, 0-0-0.00
Zach Laney, 0-0-0.00
Christian Melgarejo, 0-0-0.00
Jason Landing, 0-0-0.00
Brandon Ballard, 0-0-0.00
Vitor de Mello, 0-0-0.00
Paulo Maciel Neto, 0-0-0.00
Levi Hershberger, 0-0-0.00
Luke Powell, 0-0-0.00
Tristen Marshall, 0-0-0.00
Zach Valderas, 0-0-0.00