By Heather Croze

SIOUX FALLS, SD -- It had been two years since Matt Triplett got to celebrate a Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series win on top of the shark cage before this weekend. But the Montana native returned to the spotlight in a big way on Sunday afternoon as he rode to the victory at the First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, rocketing from No. 18 to No. 9 in the PBR world standings.

Triplett earned his first BFTS event title since 2015 in Anaheim, California, in front of a PBR-record third consecutive sellout crowd in Sioux Falls. The event was the most successful regular-season non-Major event in PBR history.

"I feel really good right now," a beaming Triplett said. "I wasn't healthy all of last year recovering from elbow and shoulder surgery, but I finally feel good. My dad really helped me get back in a good mindset. He told me that I'm very talented, and I can ride any bull. I just have to stay out of my head. I did that this weekend, and it feels great."

Triplett (Columbia Falls, MT) went 3 for 4 in the event, including an 88.75-point ride on Little Red Jacket (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls) in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round to seal the deal. For the win, Triplett picked up 625 total world points over the weekend along with $34,961.

Cody Nance (Paris, Tennessee) finished in second place in the event. Nance went 3 for 4 in Sioux Falls, including two rides on Championship Sunday. He first covered Pick-It Construction's Find Jesus (Ogden Ranch/Hart Cattle Co.) for 80.5 points in Round 3 before closing out his weekend with an 89.5-point trip aboard VJV Nailed (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls) in the championship round. For the finish, Nance pocketed 350 points toward the PBR world standings along with $17,936.

Nance leaves South Dakota as the No. 14 ranked bull rider in the world after his performance.

2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) finished third in the event after going 2-for-4, including a masterful 91-point ride aboard Cut The Cord (Aduddell/Owens/Wyatt) to win the championship round. Davis earned 265 world points along with a $16,680 paycheck.

Davis also shifted up two spots in the world standings from No. 8 to No. 6.

Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) went 3 for 4 over the weekend and slid into fourth place. He rode two bulls on Championship Sunday, including an 86.5-point ride on Bullrito (Flying S Bucking Bulls) in Round 3 before finishing up with an 86.75-point trip on Red Bandana (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Chase Bass). For the effort, Kolbaba pocketed 255 points toward the world standings and $7,186.

Kolbaba (No. 4) trails current world leader Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvlenadia, Brazil) by 1,220 points. Aparecido did not compete on Sunday after he pulled out of the event due to an injury he suffered in Round 2.

Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) rounded out the top five after going 2 for 4 in South Dakota. Vieira wrapped up his weekend with an 89.5-point ride on Fire & Smoke (J.A.R.S. Bucking Bulls) in the championship round and took home 200 points toward the world standings and $10,616.

Bull SweetPro's Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.), the 2016 PBR world champion, was named the YETI "Built for the Wild" Bull of the Event after recording a 46.25-point bull score for his buckoff of Kolbaba in Saturday's 15/15 Bucking Battle.

The PBR next heads to Billings, MT, and the Rimrock Auto Arena for the Stanley Performance in Action Invitational on April 7-9. Billings is the longest-running stop on the Built Ford Tough Series, and it will be rocking for three days straight.

Round 1 of the Stanley Performance in Action Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, begins at 9:30 PM ET on April 7 on PBR LIVE and the PBR LIVE app. Round 2 will being at 8:30 PM ET on April 8 on PBR LIVE and the PBR LIVE app.

Championship Sunday from Billings will be live on PBR LIVE and the PBR LIVE app starting at 3:30 PM ET on April 9. CBS Sports Network will also broadcast the Championship Sunday action starting at 4 PM ET.

PBR Digital Editor Kristian Limas contributed to this report.

PBR BFTS First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational

Denny Sanford PREMIER Center (Sioux Falls, SD)
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Matt Triplett, 82.25-87.25-0-88.75-258.25-625 Points
2. Cody Nance, 0-87-80.5-89.5-257.00-350 Points
3. Cooper Davis, 0-89.5-0-91-180.50-265 Points
4. Derek Kolbaba, 0-83.25-86.5-86.75-256.50-255 Points
5. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 87.75-0-0-89.5-177.25-200 Points
6. J.B. Mauney, 0-87.25-89-0-176.25-175 Points
7. Stetson Lawrence, 0-83.5-85.25-86.25-255.00-150 Points
8. Fabiano Vieira, 0-84.75-87.25-0-172.00-87.5 Points
9. Dakota Buttar, 86.5-84.5-0-0-171.00-65 Points
10. Troy Wilkinson, 86.5-0-0-0-86.50-60 Points
11. Cody Teel, 0-0-86.5-0-86.50-50 Points
12. Robson Aragao, 84.5-0-0-0-84.50-40 Points
13. Kaique Pacheco, 69-84-0-0-153.00-25 Points
14. Guilherme Marchi, 0-84.75-0-0-84.75-17.5 Points
(tie). Luciano De Castro, 0-84.75-0-0-84.75-17.5 Points.
(tie). Mike Lee, 0-84.75-0-0-84.75-17.5 Points
17. Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-79-0-0-79.00
(tie). Silvano Alves, 0-79-0-0-79.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mason Lowe, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Stormy Wing, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0.00
Koal Livingston, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Sims, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Rodeo Tyler, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Reese Cates, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Marcilio, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Emilio Resende, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Courtesy of PBR

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