Challenger Series Roundup: PBR Team Series riders sweep the week
Riders from five different teams earned Challenger Series victories.
PUEBLO, Colo. – If you want a preview of the PBR Team Series opener in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 25-26 (10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network), look no further than the PBR Challenger Series.
In the last week, there have been five Challenger Series events.
PBR Team Series riders won all of them, and each of the five victors represents a different team.
First up was the Nothin’ But Try Ranch PBR in Erick, Oklahoma, on July 13. Though the bull power reigned supreme, allowing just three qualified rides in two rounds of competition, Rafael Jose de Brito earned the event win.
This is the third Challenger Series win for the Ariat Texas Rattlers rider, who’s ranked No. 1 in the Challenger Series standings. He’d previously won his Challenger Series debut in Evansville, Indiana, in May and then won the Koben Puckett PBR in Amarillo, Texas, on July 9.
RELATED: Brito earns second Challenger Series event win at Koben Puckett PBR
Brito earned the win in Erick thanks to his championship-round ride on Cy for 87.5 points.
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Davi Henrique de Lima finished second with 85.5 points on Washita Red, and Lucas Fideles Souza (Nashville Stampede) placed third thanks to his 84-point ride on Trip Wire.
Brito earned four points towards the Challenger Series standings, where he leads No. 2 Thiago Salgado by 34 points.
Next on the slate of events was Buckin’ in the Ozarks in Springdale, Arkansas, on July 15.
Koltin Hevalow of the Arizona Ridge Riders emerged victorious, going a perfect 2-for-2 to earn his first Challenger Series win. He’d previously won his debut PBR event, the PBR Bad Boy Mowers Youngstown Invitational of the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, this past February.
In Springdale, Hevalow may have finished Round 1 with the lowest score – 76 points on Storm Breaker – but he came back to win the championship round with 87.5 points on Little Voodoo Jacket.
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Hevalow beat out 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas in second place, Brito and Ryan Dirteater in a tie for third place, and Cole Skender in fifth, all of whom went 1-for-2.
Hevalow earned 15 points towards the Challenger Series standings and is tied for No. 31.
Also on July 15, Thief River Falls, Minnesota, hosted Thunder on Hooves, where 2020 Rookie of the Year Boudreaux Campbell of the Carolina Cowboys outpaced a stacked field featuring a couple of World Champions.
Campbell earned 86.5 points on Cheating Situation in Round 1 and then won the championship round with 89.5 points on – appropriately – Dr. Campbell.
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His 176 aggregate points edged out Cowboys teammate and 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen (2-for-2, 174.5 points) in second place and three-time World Champion Silvano Alves (2-for-2, 172 points) in third.
Campbell also tied for fourth place as a double entry, going 1-for-2 with 87.5 points on Crawfish Richard in Round 1. He tied for the round win and fourth place overall with Keyshawn Whitehorse.
Campbell earned 40 Challenger Series points for the win and is now ranked No. 10.
Then came the Livingston Classic PBR in Livingston, Montana, on July 16. Casey Roberts of the Oklahoma Freedom took the event win as the only rider to go a perfect 2-for-2.
Roberts earned the win thanks to 80 points on Trigger Finger in Round 1 and a dominating 89.5 points on Get Shorty in the championship round.
Jesse Petri (Missouri Thunder) and Eli Vastbinder (Oklahoma Freedom) tied for second place, while Shawn Bennett Jr. (Oklahoma Freedom) and Wyatt Rogers (Carolina Cowboys) rounded out the Top 5. Taylor Toves, who placed sixth, was the only other rider to receive a score.
The win is the first of Roberts’s PBR career at any level of competition and earned him 15 Challenger Series points. He’s ranked No. 25 in the standings.
NEXT UP
This weekend, there are another two Challenger Series events.
Running from July 21-23, the iconic Big Sky PBR will be held in Big Sky, Montana, while the residency at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, continues with PBR Sunday at Cowtown on July 24. Catch all the action from Cowtown on RidePass on Pluto TV at 3 p.m. ET.
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media