It took nearly a year for a season-ending injury to finally end a season for bull rider Kody Lostroh. A broken nose, a muscle ripped off his elbow, floating bone fragments and a broken right leg finally did him in.
But then, not really. After surgery, he returned to ride out the final four events in the Professional Bull Riders season last year.
So it goes for the former world champion, who is back on the backs of bulls this season in the Built Ford Tough Series, the PBR’s top circuit. The series stops in Pueblo tonight and Saturday for the U.S. Air Force Invitational at the Colorado State Fair Events Center.
It will be the only PBR stop in Colorado this season for Lostroh, who grew up in Longmont and now lives in LaSalle.
“I was riding a bull and he kinda stumbled,” Lostroh said of his ride in 2009 on Neon Ghost. “When he got back up, he hit me in the nose and knocked me out. So when I came off limp, it twisted my elbow real bad. Broke loose a bunch of bone chips.”
Lostroh ended up winning the 2009 world championship. He started 2010 by dislocatating his shoulder in Omaha, and the lingering injuries from his Neon Ghost ride forced him into multiple surgeries. This season was to be his grand return. But he missed five events after tearing a muscle in the elbow of the riding arm.
Lostroh enters the Pueblo stop this season in 13th place in the series standings.
“Pueblo is one of the few events I get to ride in Colorado,” Lostroh said. “Being a guy from Colorado, there’s a lot of support here. It means a lot to me.”
Two Brazilian riders, Valdiron de Oliveira and Silvano Alves, are first and second atop the circuit.
“It’s not frustrating for me to not be winning all the time. I’ve been at the top of the world. And I’ve been at the bottom of the barrel in this sport,” Lostroh said. “I just try to stay even-keel. I know when I’m riding well that I’m right there in the top three in the world.”
With 18 events down and 11 to go before the World Finals, Lostroh has time to catch up in the standings. But he said he’s taking each bull on its own terms.
“Winning just kinda falls in line on its own,” Lostroh said. “I can’t do anything about the other guys. But I certainly can put every effort into my ride.”
Lostroh, 25, added: “I’m kind of a veteran now, I guess. I’m not that old, but I’ve been riding for a long time. If you’re 18 or 19 in this sport, you’re an old man. But I don’t think I’ve reached my prime yet.”
Professional Bull Riders
U.S. Air Force Invitational
• Who: 40 riders in the top PBR series
• Where: At the Colorado State Fair Events Center in Pueblo
• When: 8 p.m today; 7 p.m. Saturday
• TV: Versus, both nights
• Info:
AROUND TOWN
Okie State sets the bar.
The best college golfer in the U.S. on the best college team will try to fend off a charge this weekend from Fort Collins at the NCAA South Central “Colorado” Regional tournament.
Colorado National Golf Club in Erie is playing host to 13 teams and 10 golfers not on those teams in their attempt to qualify for the NCAA Tournament at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., beginning May 31.
Expect Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein to dominate on his home course come tournament time. But after a rain-shortened first round Thursday, Colorado State’s Zakhai Brown was atop the leaderboard with two holes to play.
The University of Denver joins Colorado State among teams chasing OSU and second-place Arizona State. Wyoming’s Gabe Meier is also among the hopefuls.
It all plays out on the 7,753-yard course through Saturday.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Lacrosse’s Western pioneers.
A spot in the NCAA national semifinals is on the line Saturday when the University of Denver lacrosse team travels to Hempstead, N.Y., for a quarterfinal game against No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins.
The sixth-seeded Pioneers, who last week won their first tournament game as a program, a 13-10 first- round victory over Villanova, moved on into rare territory.
DU’s 12:30 p.m. game Saturday vs. Hopkins airs nationally on ESPN2.
Unlike other sports in this country, the college game might be lacrosse’s premier level. It has the most competitive field and the biggest crowds.
If watching DU’s playoff tilt at home isn’t your bag, try one of three watch parties around town, including: at the Crimson and Gold (2017 S. University Blvd.); The Pioneer (2401 S. University Blvd.); or Old Chicago (1280 S. Colorado Blvd.).
GET OFF THE COUCH
Rare shot at this run.
For 74 years, the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun has stood a mountainside above what is now the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, at 8,136 feet in elevation.
But the tower is normally off-limits by foot — except once a year when the zoo hosts a run to its front gates. That race, the Run to the Shrine, goes Saturday with 10K and 5K options for both serious and casual runners and walkers.
The course curves through the zoo and up Shrine Road before finishing at The Lodge at Moose Lake.
Check for info.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Back home again.
Unbeaten in their past four games, the Rapids return home — finally — Sunday for a 5 p.m. game against Toronto FC at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Colorado hasn’t played in Commerce City since April 30, a 1-1 draw with Chicago. The Rapids then hit the road for three matches, earning a win and two ties for five points in the process.
It was a valuable stretch for the Rapids, who have played eight different strikers on their front line this season because of injuries.
After a strong start, Colorado (4-3-3) has dropped to fourth place in the Western Conference, but their 15 points would be good enough for the top spot in the East.
Which brings them to Sunday’s game against struggling Toronto (2-4-5, 11 points), which is seventh in the East. With three games scheduled in seven days, this weekend’s game is important.
