GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Elijah Jennings won his first career PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event Saturday night in Van Andel Arena during Cooper Tires PBR Grand Rapids, leading a weekend that showcased the sport’s rising young talent.
The 18-year-old took the lead with the fourth out of the Championship Round with an 87.60-point ride on Catching Gears to reach 173.40 points and overtake Cole Trivette for the lead. It was the second bull he rode on the evening, also lasting the full eight on Ferracci for 85.80 points in the second round to open up Saturday after bucking off on Friday.
Just a few minutes earlier, Trivette held the advantage for the event buckle with 169.50 points after besting Socks In A Box for a round-high 87.90 points. On Friday night, he and Ferracci combined for 81.60 points in the outing.
Tahj Wells, one of a few double-entries in Michigan, tied for third with 166.20 points for each of his entries. In Wells’ first entry, the 19-year-old cowboy from Browning, Montana scored 82.70 points on All Sudden Friday night and 83.50 points aboard Infection in the Championship Round.
In Wells’ second entry of the event, he bested Angel’s Envy for 82.20 points, also on Friday night, and rode Southern Bend in the second round for 84 additional points to set the bar heading into the Championship Round.
Brody Robinson, another rising 18-year-old, closed out the top five at Grand Rapids with 86.90 points aboard Organized Chaos in the second round – the highest score of the round and the third-highest of the weekend.
Next week, the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour splits its time between PBR Greenville and PBR Nampa, both two-day events on Jan. 30–31. PBR Greenville will take place at Bon Secours Wellness Arena at 8 p.m. ET Friday and 7 p.m. ET Saturday. PBR Nampa will be at the Ford Idaho Center with an 8 p.m. MT start on Friday and 7 p.m. MT start on Saturday.
Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour – Cooper Tires PBR Grand Rapids
Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Michigan
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Elijah Jennings [2], 0-85.8-87.6-173.40-116 Points.
2. Cole Trivette, 81.6-0-87.9-169.50-93 Points.
3. Tahj Wells [1], 82.7-0-83.5-166.20-62.5 Points.
(tie). Tahj Wells [2], 82.2-84-0-166.20-60.5 Points.
5. Brody Robinson [2], 0-86.9-0-86.90-45 Points.
6. Elijah Jennings [1], 85.1-0-0-85.10-40 Points.
7. Melvin Byler [2], 84.8-0-0-84.80-24 Points.
8. Marcus Mast, 0-84.6-0-84.60-22 Points.
9. Ezekiel Mitchell [2], 80.6-0-0-80.60-18 Points.
10. Ezekiel Mitchell [1], 79.5-0-0-79.50-7 Points.
11. Michael Lane [1], 69.4-0-0-69.40-5 Points.
João Paulo Fernandes, 0-0-0-0.00
Brody Robinson [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Darren Wagler, 0-0-0-0.00
Melvin Byler [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Gavin Creviston, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Krantz, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Allgood, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Warnken, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Erxleben, 0-0-0-0.00
Bryar Holloway, 0-0-0-0.00
Preston Wentworth, 0-0-0-0.00
Brylee Smith, 0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Villarreal, 0-0-0-0.00
Tucker Mertens, 0-0-0-0.00
Drake Buell, 0-0-0-0.00
Keith Skrabis, 0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Glanville, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Kline, 0-0-0-0.00
Jared Beechy, 0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Miller [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Miller [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Isaac Strock, 0-0-0-0.00
Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Standings
1. Kase Hitt, 7, 2, 3, 348.50, $20,973.64
2. Grayson Cole, 11, 1, 3, 342.00, $16,448.75
3. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 16, 0, 6, 338.00, $16,442.63
4. Nick Tetz, 5, 2, 4, 328.00, $16,765.80
5. Jared Parsonage, 3, 2, 2, 323.00, $116,566.29
6. Wyatt Rogers, 14, 1, 3, 271.50, $18,754.63
7. Elijah Jennings, 7, 1, 2, 251.00, $12,293.33
8. Mason Taylor, 8, 1, 3, 226.00, $10,034.38
8. Romario Leite, 9, 1, 3, 226.00, $12,194.21
10. Ezekiel Mitchell, 8, 0, 3, 224.00, $9,040.00
11. Afonso Quintino, 4, 1, 2, 220.00, $10,638.73
12. Vinicius Rodrigues Pereira, 8, 1, 3, 215.00, $11,246.10
13. Daniel Keeping, 2, 1, 1, 214.00, $40,474.63
13. Kade Madsen, 5, 1, 2, 214.00, $16,072.11
15. Dione de Souza Ribeiro, 17, 0, 5, 205.50, $10,457.19
16. Trace Redd, 6, 1, 2, 203.50, $13,750.41
17. Brody Robinson, 17, 0, 3, 200.00, $7,560.56
18. Dakota Buttar, 6, 0, 2, 188.00, $18,304.51
18. Macaulie Leather, 4, 0, 3, 188.00, $19,861.03
20. Lane Vaughan, 2, 1, 2, 184.50, $8,066.67
21. Kurt Shephard, 3, 1, 2, 182.50, $73,649.48
22. Jordan Hansen, 2, 0, 2, 178.50, $18,610.04
23. Jaxton Mortensen, 6, 1, 1, 171.00, $8,500.00
24. Bruno Carvalho, 6, 1, 2, 166.00, $22,271.67
25. Rogario Venâncio, 1, 1, 1, 159.50, $7,476.30
26. Warley Oliveira da Silva, 2, 0, 1, 153.00, $3,519.17
27. Andy Guzman, 9, 0, 1, 151.00, $6,280.00
28. Joao Paulo Fernandes, 4, 1, 1, 148.00, $6,540.00
29. Miguel de Jesus, 7, 0, 2, 147.00, $3,800.00
30. Tahj Wells, 6, 0, 3, 146.00, $6,154.17
31. Lucas Martins Costa, 12, 1, 3, 145.00, $7,606.38
32. Dalton Rudman, 8, 1, 1, 135.00, $6,140.00
33. Zane Cook, 8, 0, 1, 134.00, $3,440.00
33. Dener Barbosa, 4, 0, 2, 134.00, $8,284.59
33. Cassio Dias, 3, 1, 2, 134.00, $20,641.00
36. Cleber Henrique Marques, 6, 1, 2, 133.00, $5,568.30
37. Thiago Salgado, 1, 1, 1, 132.00, $114,529.92
38. Lucas Divino, 6, 0, 1, 127.00, $7,243.14
39. Adilson Junior, 6, 1, 2, 122.00, $8,811.95
40. Jean Carlos Teodoro, 7, 2, 3, 121.50, $7,520.81
41. Conner Halverson, 8, 0, 2, 121.00, $6,802.70
42. Jake Gardner, 5, 0, 2, 116.00, $34,851.96
43. Jean Fernandes Pereira, 11, 1, 3, 114.00, $7,088.45
44. Luan Crystian Camara, 2, 0, 1, 112.50, $26,248.69
45. Dalton Allred, 5, 0, 1, 112.00, $8,756.96
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media