Parks Bonifay won his fourth MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour season championship by winning today's final stop in Irvine, California. Bonifay, who was in second on the points list coming into the weekend, stomped it his final run of the day with numerous high intense tricks including a Whirlybird, Pete Rose and concluded the run with a massive Double Half-Cab Roll on the double-up.
Bonifay scored a 97 in the tour finals presented by Chevy Trucks and GM Vortec engines to win his first tour title since 2001. Bonifay nipped Darin Shapiro in the finals. Shapiro's the only rider with more titles than Bonifay with six. A very emotional Bonifay accepted the $5000 Indmar Performance Award, "I feel phenomenal. I've been on the tour for while and this has been best year the tour has ever had. The judges, the sites and how everything was run was simply the best."
It was a disappointing day for the tour leader in points coming into today. Australia's Daniel Watkins, who was in first by 10 points, was eliminated in the semifinal round. Watkins finished fifth costing him a chance at the season championship. "There was a lot of pressure out there. I guess I could have gone bigger...it was a really tough heat."
In wakeskating, Brian Grubb won the first ever Sea-Doo Wakeskate Series Championship. Coming into the weekend, Grubb was trailing points-leader Thomas Horrell by 5 points in the series and needed a win in today's competition to take the title. Grubb came through with a gold medal performance beating Horrell by four places and clinching the title.
In the Junior Men division, JD Webb capped off a terrific year with another first-place finish clinching the MasterCraft Junior X series. Webb scored a 96 today to win the Irvine stop, his fifth winning effort of six stops on the series. "The Junior X title means a lot to me. It is great that I made it this far," said the 16-year old from Polk City, Florida. "I didn't think I could win the series title because there's so many good riders and anyone of them could have won it."
Webb said the victory today was a little different than the others. "For the first time I was kind of nervous. There was just so much on the line, so I wanted to do good and that made me anxious."
The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Chevy Trucks and GM Vortec Engines, is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Florida. Powered by Indmar, the Pro Tour has the support of the following: Bud Light, 180 Energy Drink, Sea-Doo watercraft, Hyperlite, Perfect Pass, Activision, Liquid Force, Epiphone Guitars, CWB, OJ Props, Gator Boards, Chipper Beef Jerky, Earthboard, Bare Wetsuits, buywake.com, Billabong, Reef, Love Sac, Body Glove, Capix Helmets, JoyRide, 3thirteen, Indo Boards, One Percent Designs, UGP, Straightline, Double-up, Blindside, Bootie Lube, Liquid Lube, Monaco, Ice Apparel and Barts Water Sports.
RESULTS:
Pro Men Finals
1. Parks Bonifay 97
2. Darin Shapiro 92
3. Shaun Murray 90
4. Tino Santori 88
5. Brett Eisenhauer 84
6. Gerry Nunn 82
7. Danny Harf 81
8. Erik Ruck 78
9. Chad Sharpe 73
Wakeskate Finals
1. Brian Grubb 96
2. Brandon Thomas 95
3. Aaron Reed 90
4. Thomas Horrell 89
5. Chase Gregory 84
6. Drew McGuckin 82
7. Steve Wahlman 80
8. Tim Kovacich 76
Jr. Men Finals
1. JD Webb 96
2. Scott Hopkins 89
3. Justin Sellers 88.5
4. Jonathan Nadolski 88
5. Jeff House 84
6. Josh Chism 81
7. Devin Rogers 80
8. Philip Combs 79
9. Kevin Henshaw 78.5
Pro Men Semifinals
(top three in each heat advance to finals)
Heat #1
1. Brett Eisenhauer 95
2. Danny Harf 93
3. Gerry Nunn 90
4. Rob Struharik 88
5. Daniel Watkins 87
6. Josh Sanders 85
