ODESSA, Texas - Team Cavenders took advantage of everything laid before them during Friday’s fifth go-round of the Professional Bullfighters Daisy Protection Bullfight World Championships.
Dusty Tuckness of Meeteetse, Wyo., and Andy Burelle of Ardmore, Okla., drew some better bulls to fight, then stepped up to the plate and used the draw to their advantage.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position,” Tuckness said. “We had some of the better bulls, and we went to work on them.”
Team Cavenders scored 86 points, the second most of the competition so far. They also catapulted into the lead in the finals’ average race, scoring 385 through five rounds. They surpassed Team All-American Dodge, Toby Inman and Dave Jantzi, who had led the competition from the opening round a week ago.
Burelle and Tuckness were eight points better than No. 2 in the round, Team Mann Creek Buck-N-Bulls, Jay Brewer of Graham, Texas, and Steve Wangler of Plainview, Neb.
It’s been a tight race between Burelle/Tuckness and Brewer/Wangler all season, and their positions in the average will make it a fight to the finish on Saturday.
NOTEBOOK: Brewer continues to struggle with a right knee injury. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament a little more than a month ago.
A week ago, he aggravated things. On Friday night, it got a little worse, when Brewer tore the medial collateral ligament. But he’s still competing and is expected to continue his fight for the world championship.
Inman sustained a torn biceps and torn triceps muscle during Friday’s performance. The Davis Junction, Ill., bullfighter is expected to compete in Saturday’s final round.
RESULTS
Fifth performance, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009
1. Team Cavenders, Andy Burelle, Ardmore, Okla./Dusty Tuckness, Meeteetse, Wyo., 86 points
2. Team Mann Creek Buck-N-Bulls, Jay Brewer, Graham, Texas/Steve Wangler, Plainview, Neb., 78
3. Team Buster’s Well Service, Wacey Munsell, Ulysses, Kan./Lance McIlvain, Arlington, Texas, 73
4. Team Daisy, Joe Garretson, Springfield, Mo./Cory Wall, Burlington, Colo., 72
Team All-American Dodge, Toby Inman, Davis Junction, Ill/Dave Jantzi, Sugar Creek Ohio, 71
Five-round leaderboard
1. Team Cavenders, Burelle/Tuckness, 385
2. Team All-American Dodge, Jantzi/Inman, 376
3. Team Mann Creek Buck-N-Bulls, Brewer/Wangler, 355
4. Team Daisy, Garretson/Wall, 349
5. Team Buster’s Well Service, Munsell/McIlvain, 325.
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