SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Feb. 23 — The San Antonio Xtreme Bulls has long been one of the most prestigious wins on tour for a bull rider.
This year was no exception with a record $100,000 purse and 50 of the best bull riders in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. And, it just might have been career changing for Josh Koschel from Nunn, Colo., who earned the championship.
Koschel got on a bull named Push It from Powder River Rodeo in the first round to score 87.5 points. That put him in a tie for second place with Corey Navarre, from Weatherford, Okla. Tyler Willis, from Wheatland, Wyo., won the round with an 88-point effort on Andrews Rodeo’s Bam Bam.
It all came down to the final round where Koschel got on Captain America, also from Powder River Rodeo, a bull he was very familiar with. Koschel had gotten on the bull on Thursday night in the semi-finals of the rodeo and been bucked off.
This time it had a much better result. Koschel scored 82 points on the bull and finished second in the final round behind Powell, Wyoming’s Kanin Asay who was 83.5 on Four L/Diamond S Rodeo’s Fully Wicked. Koschel’s incoming score gave him the win by 1.5 points over Asay. Koschel had a total of 169.5 compared to Asay’s 168.
Last year was the first time Koschel hit the rodeo trail with the idea that he could qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He finished the year in 32nd place enough to qualify him for the San Antonio Rodeo and Xtreme bulls, a definite stepping stone in any rodeo contestant’s career. His season earnings of $31,517 are just over what he has won here so far.
The Xtreme Bulls Championship was worth $14,100 for Koschel. His total take for the day was $24,440 including his second place finishes in the individual rounds. He has also earned $4,421 at this year’s rodeo and has qualified for the finals here on Saturday night. His total earnings so far are at $28,861.
“My goal is to make the NFR, and I wanted to win an Xtreme Bulls on the way,” Koschel said. “Praise God it all worked out. This is awesome.”
Koschel is traveling with 2004 world champion bull rider Dustin Elliott from North Platte, Neb., who won the Xtreme Bulls here in 2010. Elliott finished third here this year earning $12,633. Between the two of them, they took $37,073 out of the AT&T Center on Saturday afternoon.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The following are unofficial results from the Xtreme Bulls competition at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Feb. 23.
First Round: 1. Tyler Willis, Wheatland, Wyo., 88 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Bam Bam, $8,460. 2, (tie) Corey Navarre, Weatherford, Okla., and Josh Koschel, Nunn, Colo., 87.5, $5,640. 4, Cody Samora, Cortez, Colo., 86.5. 5, Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 86, $1,974. 6, (tie) Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., and Kanin Asay, Powell, Wyo., 84.5, $1,269. 8, (tie) Tag Elliott, Thatcher, Utah; Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla.; and J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas, 84, $282.
Final Round: 1, Kanin Asay, Powell, Wyo., 83.5 points on Four L/Diamond S Rodeo’s Fully Wicked, $6,204. 2, Josh Koschel, Nunn, Colo., 82, $4,700. 3, (tie) Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., and J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas, 80, $2,256.
Overall: (on two) 1, Josh Koschel, Nunn, Colo., 169.5 points, $14,100. 2, Kanin Asay, 168, $10,810. 3, Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 164.5, $7,990. 4, J.W. Harris, Mullin, Texas, 164, $5,170 . (on one) 5, Tyler Willis, Wheatland, wyo., 88, $3,290. 6, Corey Navarre, Weatherford, Texas, 87.5, $2,350. 7, Cody Samora, Cortez, Colo., 86.5, $1,880. 8, Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 86, $1,410.