Pensacola, Florida (April 14, 2002) -The finals of the Vans Wakeboarding Pro, the first stop of the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding Series shaped up in much the same way as the 2001 event in Pensacola, the Ford Ranger Wakeboarding Pro, with many of the same finalists in last year's competition making it to the finals in 2002.
The only difference was that Darin Shapiro had a bit of an off day in the 2001 finals of the Ford Ranger Pro, Shapiro didn't let that happen this time around. Proving he can master all facets of a run, throwing together huge wake tricks, pulling off excellent tricks from all of the apparatus and doing everything cleanly, led Shapiro to victory over two tough competitors.
In the end it came down to the last three riders off the dock, each with different styles, but all throwing together excellent runs behind the MasterCraft X Star. Shapiro's run had great balance, newcomer Mark Kenney showed he will be a force in the future and defending event champion Shane Bonifay showed he can use the apparatus as well as anyone, but it's hard to top Shapiro when he's on his game.
"This was a tough one to win. Mark Kenney came out of nowhere. I know he's been tearing it up for a while, but his performance this weekend was big," said Shapiro the defending Wakeboard World Champion. "Shane Bonifay won this event last year and I thought he would do it again. What a great final."
Shapiro takes the check and first place in the Vans Triple Crown season standings, putting him in a prime spot to collect a new Ford Truck at the end of the year if he can stay on top of the standings.
2002 is a new year with many different players on the wakeboarding scene. In the Pro Women's Finals Melissa Marquardt of California takes home the biggest win of her career, out riding favorites Emily Copeland and Dallas Friday.
"After I saw everyone ride, they all did so well. I knew I would have to put something together," said Marquardt. "I went out there and did what I wanted to do and stood everything up. I can't ask for anymore than that."
Sunday's Final Results
Pro Men FINALS
1 Darin Shapiro (FL) 77.11
2 Mark Kenney (AUS) 75.50
3 Shane Bonifay (FL) 75.23
Josh Sanders (AUS) 71.24
Froggy Soven (FL) 67.55
Cobe Mikacich (FL) 64.23
Joel Cahill (FL) 60.36
Shawn Watson (FL) 53.91
Erik Ruck (WI) 42.57
Chris Law (FL) 35.03
Pro Women FINALS
1 Melissa Marquardt (CA) 54.11
2 Emily Copeland (CO) 53.57
3 Dallas Friday (FL) 51.90
Christy Lee Smith (AR) 48.22
Maeghan Major (NC) 45.23
Laura Lohrmann (WI) 44.46
Buster Lutgert (FL) 42.68
Jaime Necrason (FL) 35.90
Jr Men FINALS
1 Derek Grasman (MI) 63.66
2 Kevin Henshaw (CAN) 60.57
3 Robert Bonifay (FL) 59.00
4 Devin Rogers (FL) 58.45
5 Chris Kolb (MO) 52.35
Philip Combs (OR) 48.93
Jonathan Nadolski (FL) 45.92
Wes Brisco (FL) 45.50
Brad Allen (TX) 45.13
Jimmy Wolf (AZ) 40.03
1 Jimmy Wolf (AZ) 57.66
2 Philip Combs (OR) 53.00
Blake Watson (FL) 52.80
Kyle Murphy (CA) 45.91
Austin Ullrich (TX) 42.27
Mike Fulton (AZ) 40.35
Cedric Dhoedt (BELGIUM) 38.86
Heat # 4
1 Devin Rogers (FL) 51.90
2 Chris Kolb (MO) 51.01
Josh Chism (FL) 50.13
Ian Reid (FL) 47.55
Justin Sellers (NC) 46.58
Adam Wensink (OH) 41.35
Jake Stocks (IN) 34.79
Heat # 5
1 Jonathan Nadolski (FL) 57.57
2 Robert Bonifay (FL) 54.47
J D Webb (FL) 50.91
Tim Kovacich (FL) 45.22
Jeff House (TN) 43.25
Jeremy Mosier (KS) 41.91
Ross Gardner (FL) NS
