As the Unleash The Beast prepares to arrive at the midway point of the 2024 season, with the 12th showdown of the season slated to begin Feb. 16 inside Crypto.com Arena, PBR.com is taking a closer look at the rankest rides, biggest stories and beyond ahead of the PBR Salt Lake City:

DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES HERE

HEVALOW EARNS FIRST CAREER PREMIER SERIES TITLE: Koltin Hevalow joined his home state Kansas City Chiefs in the winning column last weekend, going 2-for-3 to win his first Unleash The Beast event title in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Smithville, Missouri, native began his weekend by covering Taz for 85.5 points in the opening round before earning his pick of the pen in the championship round by topping Baldy for 85.25 points. Despite bucking off Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket, Hevalow, a rider for the Kansas City Outlaws on the separate PBR Camping World Team Series, had done enough to secure the victory. The golden finish rocketed him 106 points up the standings to No. 3, his highest-ever ranking. The Missourian is the sixth different rider to win their first Unleash The Beast event this season, joining Caden Bunch, Cassio Dias, Brady Fielder, Wingson Henrique da Silva and Leonardo Castro. The young cowboy looks to repeat his success in Los Angeles, taking on Big Twist in Round 1 on Friday, who has never been covered by a left-handed rider.

ROOKIES STILL ROLLING – Rookies make up almost half of the Top 30 of this year’s championship race, as 13 sit in the Top 30 of the Unleash The Beast standings. Three currently sit in the Top 10 of the Unleash The Beast standings (No. 1 Cassio Dias, No. 5 John Crimber and No. 10 Leonardo Castro), and five finished inside the Top 10 in Salt Lake City.

The best rookie performance last weekend was from Cort McFadden. A member of the Austin Gamblers, McFadden topped Desperado for 83 points in the opening round before remaining perfect heading into the championship round aboard Pearl’s Ghost for 85.25 points. In search of his first premier series event buckle, the young Texan roared out of the chutes on Manaba but was dismounted after 4.16 seconds. His 2-for-3 performance netted him a career-best third-place finish and 57 points, pushing him inside the Top 20 of the standings. McFadden shares a chute with Whack Attack in Round 1 Friday evening.

Julio Cesar Marques moved to 9-for-29 on the season in Utah with his aforementioned 1-for-3 performance. Currently ranked No. 15, the Brazilian has been one of the most consistent rookies on tour this season, recording four Top 5 finishes. Fellow rookie Clay Guiton was one of the riders who matched Marques in the opening round, covering Blackstone for 88.25 points. Since being shut out in his Unleash The Beast debut, the North Carolina cowboy has skyrocketed up to No. 20 in the standings, going an impressive 7-for-13. Guiton is paired with the aptly named West Coast in Crypto.com Arena for Round 1.

Barely besting Dias’s ninth-place finish was Kaiden Loud, who also went 1-for-3. Proving his resilience, the Nashville Stampede’s Loud bounced back after bucking off Big Worm in 2.94 seconds in Round 1 to top Lapua for 87.5 points in Round 2. His eighth-place performance in Salt Lake City was the young Texan’s second-best on the season and the third time in his past four events he has broken into the Top 20. Loud takes on Bouchon in Los Angeles Friday night.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media