Sports
A7
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Bulls on parade
Talented field puts on show during Ed Miller Xtreme bull riding event at Eastern Oregon Livestock Show
By RONALD BOND
For The Observer
NION — The field
U
in the 12th Ed Miller
Xtreme bull riding
featured former champions of the
event, as well as PRCA National
Finals Rodeo and PBR finalists.
But on Thursday, June 9, it was a
20-year-old making his Eastern Oregon
Livestock Show debut who stole the
show. California bull rider Cody Russell
bested a field of about 40 contestants to
win the Ed Miller Xtreme with the score
of 87.
“It was pretty cool. I’ve seen this
event a couple of times. My buddies
have been here before, they tell me it’s
a great one,” Russell, of Oakdale, Cali-
fornia, said. “Being my first time (and)
being able to hang on to one and win it
is a blessing.”
Several big numbers had already
been posted, including an 83.5 from
Caleb McMillan and an 82.5 from
Clayton Savage, when Russell hopped
on his bull, Separation Anxiety. Several
other high-pedigree riders were set to
follow, among them last year’s champion
Ruger Piva — who rode early but was
granted a re-ride — two-time champion
Parker Breding, and PBR standout and
Joseph native Derek Kolbaba.
Russell, who said he was “pumped
up” by a standing-room-only crowd —
one he described as “electric” — that
packed the Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show arena, put on a display. Separa-
tion Anxiety leaped out of the gate then
spun left, but the youngster maintained
control throughout the ride to gain some
separation from the rest of the field.
“He took a jump out there, had a lot
of pounding, but felt pretty good,” Rus-
sell said. “Kind of got a little stronger at
the end, but felt amazing.”
Several 80-plus point rides followed,
including an 83 from Jesse Flores and an
82.5 from Brady Portenier, and Russell
did wonder if his score would hold up.
“I was hoping so. There were a lot of
good guys who had a lot of good bulls
drawn,” he said. “I’m just really fortu-
nate to be where I’m at right now.”
Piva, last year’s co-champion with
an 84 who was coming off a 90-point
ride a night earlier in Sisters, dazzled
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Hayes Weight, of Goshen, Utah, gets bucked from his bull during the Ed Miller Xtreme bull riding at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show on Thursday,
June 8, 2022.
ED MILLER XTREME PLACING
RIDERS, PAYOUT
1. Cody Russell, 87 points, $4,117
2. Caleb McMillan, 83.5, $3,157
3. Jesse Flores, 83, $2,333
T4. Clayton Savage, 82.5, $1,235
T4. Brady Portenier, 82.5, $1,235
6. Ruger Piva, 80.5, $686
7. Dallee Mason, 80, $549
8. Cole Hill, 77, $412
Source: prorodeo.com
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Ray Mayo, of Clearlake, California, holds on during the Ed Miller Xtreme bull riding at the Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show on Thursday, June 8, 2022.
the crowd to end the night in his re-ride
attempt. He stuck to a bull that spun
right, but was granted a score of just
80.5 that left him in sixth.
Russell’s lead held, too, when
Breding and Kolbaba failed to make
8 seconds. Breding stuck to his bull,
Bud’s Delight, as it spun left, but he was
thrown by a late shift to the right.
Kolbaba, meanwhile, said he liked his
draw and felt he could get a good score
on the bull Peacemaker.
“In my mind, I had the bull to have,
one that you could dang sure win on,
and one that you could dang sure stub
your toe on,” he said. “That’s what hap-
pened. I stubbed my toe and he made me
pay for it. I just kind of let him beat me
out of the bucking chute and get rocked
back, and the moment you let them bulls
have all the power (over) you, they’re
probably going to win that battle.”
Kolbaba said it was his first time
seeing Russell compete in person.
“It’s amazing to see (this) young
group of kids coming up and just
remembering back in the day, being that
age and kind of young. It’s cool to see
that next generation coming up,” he said.
For Russell, getting to put his name
alongside Breding, Piva, Jory Markiss
and other Ed Miller Xtreme champs was
a good feeling.
“I’m extremely blessed,” he said.
SPORTS SHORT
Cascade Collegiate Conference lands six schools in top 50 of Learfield standings
Eastern Oregon
checks in at No.
32 in final tally
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Oregon Tech leads 11
Cascade Collegiate Con-
ference institutions on the
final Learfield Directors’
Cup Standings, released
Thursday, June 9.
The Owls rank 23rd
overall with 486.5 total
points, followed closely
by the College of Idaho,
which sits in the No. 24
spot with 475 points.
Lewis-Clark State College
(427.5), Eastern Oregon
University (417), Univer-
sity of British Columbia
(408) and Southern
Oregon University (403.5)
fill in spots 31, 32, 33 and
35, respectively, to put six
CCC teams in the top 50.
Corban University
picked up 202 points to
finish 79th, while North-
west University (156th,
63), Bushnell University
(161st, 59), Multnomah
University (175th, 38) and
Warner Pacific University
(181st, 25) rounded out
the CCC schools.
Overall, 13 sports are
counted in the final NAIA
standings, four of which
must be men’s basket-
ball, men’s soccer, wom-
en’s basketball and wom-
en’s volleyball. The next
highest — nine maximum
— sports scored for each
institution, regardless of
gender, are used in the
standings.
The Learfield IMG
College Directors’ Cup
was developed as a
joint effort between the
National Association of
Collegiate Directors of
Athletics (NACDA) and
USA Today. Points are
awarded based on each
institution’s finish in
NAIA championships.
The Observer, File
Eastern Oregon’s
Kayla Berg (8)
slides into third
base during a
matchup against
the University of
Providence at Peggy
Anderson Softball
Field, La Grande, on
Friday, April 23, 2021.
On the strength of
the Mountaineers’
43-17 record and an
at-large bid to the
NAIA tournament,
Eastern Oregon
finished No. 32 in the
final 2022 Learfield
Directors’ Cup
Standings.
Find up-to-date scores and additional game coverage
for your local high school, available 24/7 at
www.lagrandeobserver.com.