McConnel successful in Springfield; de Oliveira dominates in Goliad

PUEBLO, Colo. – Joseph McConnel finds himself sitting atop the Professional Bull Riders Touring Pro Division standings after his win this past weekend at the ABBI Springfield Touring Pro Division in Springfield, Mo. 

McConnel picked up 89.5 points in the long round and followed it up with a 90-point effort in the short go for a total event score of 179.5 points to win $5,146.75. 

Jory Markiss took second in Springfield, just a half a point away from tying McConnel for the win, with two 89.5-point rides and a 179-point total for $3,970.35. With this win, Markiss also qualified for THE AMERICAN, being the second PBR bull rider to do so. Skeeter Kingsolver was the first qualifier after his performance in Little Rock, Ark. 

Although McConnel won the event, he opted out of paying the fee to compete for a spot in THE AMERICAN. Markiss ended up as the highest-placing rider who paid the AMERICAN fee. 

Matt Triplett notched a third-place finish while in Springfield, Mo., with an 88-point ride in the long round and posted the only other 90-point ride in the event during the short go, taking home $2,205.75. 

Meanwhile, in Goliad, Texas, Valdiron de Oliveira secured the win with a total of 174.5 points for $3,901.50 in prize money. The Brazilian rode for 86.5 points in Round 1 while getting 88 points for his effort in the short go. 

Paulo Lima placed second in Goliad with 179 points for $2,295.00 and Mike Lee landed third with 169.5 points for $1,262.25. 

This weekend the TPD will make two stops in Oklahoma and one in Texas. Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16, riders such as Markiss, Triplett, Markus Mariluch and Brant Atwood will compete at the Enid PBR Challenge in Enid, Okla. 

Also on Saturday, the J.W. Hart Invitational PBR TPD will take place in McAlester, Okla., at 7 p.m. 2013 PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney, Austin Meier and Chase Outlaw are all scheduled to ride. 

The San Antonio PBR TPD begins at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday with Clayton Baethge and Jason Malone expected to participate. 

ABBI Springfield TPD on Nov. 8-9 at Springfield, Mo.
Final Results (Round 1-Round 2-Total Points-Earnings)
1. Joseph McConnel, 89.5-90-179.5 points, $5,146.75
2. Jory Markiss, 89.5-89.5-179 points, $3,970.35
3. Matt Triplett, 88-90-178 points, $2,205.75
4. Gage Gay, 88-87.5-175.5 points, $1,617.55
5. Ryan McConnel, 86.5-85.5-172 points, $705.84

PBR Goliad TPD on Nov. 9 at Goliad, Texas
Final Results (Round 1-Round 2-Total Points-Earnings)
1. Valdiron de Oliveira, 86.5-88-174.5 points, $3,901.50
2. Paulo Lima, 84.5-88-172.5 points, $2,295.00
3. Mike Lee, 86-83.5-169.5 points, $1,262.25
Ralph Benson Jr., 83-86.5-169.5 points, $1,147.50
5. Brian Titman, 85-83-168 points, $550.80

Top 10 Touring Pro Division Rankings
1. Joseph McConnel, 310.88 points
2. Ben Seeds, 292.38 points
3. David Mason, 276.50 points
4. Chon Miranda, 253.63 points
5. Gage Gay, 248.13 points
6. Matt Triplett, 239.13 points
7. Jory Markiss, 205.25 points
8. Valdiron de Oliveira, 176.38 points
9. Cliff Richardson, 161.63 points
10. David Kennedy, 157.50 points