WHEELING, W.V. – As the opening round of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Wheeling, brought to you by Oglebay Resort, concluded inside a raucous WesBanco Arena, Jake Morinec (Mokena, Illinois) sits atop the leaderboard.

Paired with Dip Stick (Cornwell Bucking Bulls), Morinec roared out of the chutes for a round-winning 86.5 points.

The round win netted the Illinoian 28 Velocity Global points.

Dustin Herman (Dudley Shoals, North Carolina) topped Step That Step (Obernagel/Sho-Me Rodeo) for 85 points in the fifth section to take second.

The runner-up finish garnered Herman 18 Velocity Global points.

In third place after the first night of action is Alvaro Ariel (Itumirim, Brazil).

Sharing a chute with Kephart’s Lego Armour (G&H Cattle), the Brazilian rocketed out of the gates for 84.5 points.

The bronze finish earned Ariel 17 Velocity Global points.

Sitting in fourth is Leandro Zampollo (Pirassununga, Brazil).

Taking on Hells Bells (John Brennan/Danny Ford Enterprises), the Brazilian cowboy sat tall for 81.5 points.

He left WesBanco Arena with 16 Velocity Global points.

Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) and Eli Byler (Nashville, Ohio) tied for fifth Friday evening.

Montanha rode Bad Intentions (K-C Bucking Bulls) for 81 points, which Byler matched aboard Neon Street (Dustin Denning Bucking Bulls/Burnt Chimney Bucking Bulls).

The pair both rose 14.5 points in the Velocity Global standings.

The final ride of the night belonged to Christian Clay Oliveira (Iturama, Brazil), who thundered out of the chutes on Who’s Next (K-C Bucking Bulls) for 78 points.

Velocity Global points contribute to the Velocity Global Standings and determine which new riders are added to the elite Unleash The Beast throughout the season. The Top 3 Velocity Global riders who have not already qualified are also invited to the PBR World Finals in May.

The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour action continues tomorrow, Saturday, March 16, with Round 2 and the championship round at WesBanco Arena, beginning at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour PBR Wheeling, brought to you by Oglebay Resort WesBanco Arena – Wheeling, West Virginia Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Jake Morinec, 86.5-0-0-86.50-28 Points. 2. Dustin Herman, 85-0-0-85.00-18 Points. 3. Alvaro Ariel, 84.5-0-0-84.50-17 Points. 4. Leandro Zampollo, 81.5-0-0-81.50-16 Points. 5. Claudio Montanha Jr., 81-0-0-81.00-14.5 Points. (tie). Eli Byler [1], 81-0-0-81.00-14.5 Points. 7. Christian Clay Oliveira, 78-0-0-78.00-5 Points. Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00 Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00 Andy Bohl, 0-0-0-0.00 Ramon de Lima [1], 0-0-0-0.00 Ramon de Lima [2], 0-0-0-0.00 Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0-0.00 Tyler Manor, 0-0-0-0.00 Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0.00 Justin Ethridge, 0-0-0-0.00 Ueberson Duarte, 0-0-0-0.00 Josh Stepp, 0-0-0-0.00 Max Castro [1], 0-0-0-0.00 Max Castro [2], 0-0-0-0.00 Paulo Rodriguez, 0-0-0-0.00 Cash Keeling [1], 0-0-0-0.00 Cash Keeling [2], 0-0-0-0.00 Eder Barbosa [1], 0-0-0-0.00 Eder Barbosa [2], 0-0-0-0.00 Tyler Crank, 0-0-0-0.00 Elizmar Jeremias, 0-0-0-0.00 Cole Devlin, 0-0-0-0.00 Eli Byler [2], 0-0-0-0.00 Bennie Shetler, 0-0-0-0.00 Matt Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00 Cody West, 0-0-0-0.00 Joshua Spears, 0-0-0-0.00 Michael Phillips, 0-0-0-0.00 Winston Speicher, 0-0-0-0.00 Brylee Smith, 0-0-0-0.00 Kyle Toth [1], 0-0-0-0.00 Kyle Toth [2], 0-0-0-0.00 Eli Hershberger, 0-0-0-0.00 Hagen Braswell, 0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of James Reuff