Indianapolis, Indiana (August 21, 2003) - More than half of the fifty states were represented at the Precedent in north Indianapolis on Thursday as the top amateur wakeboarders in the U.S. compete in the Built Ford Tough WWA Wakeboard National Championships, the second stop of the Vans Triple Crown™ of Wakeboarding Series.
Competition took place in ten divisions on Thursday, the first day of the competition. Competitors have traveled from as far away as California, Massachusetts and Oregon to lay claim to the WWA National Title in wakeboarding.
Many locals from Indiana also took advantage of the home lake conditions. In the Girl's Division, Maggie Jaicomo from Indiana took second place in the Girls Semifinals to earn a chance at the National Championship in Friday's Finals. Two competitors from Indiana moved into the finals of the Men's I Division, the largest division of competitors on Thursday. Michael Vincz and Mark Weikel will represent Indiana in the Finals on Friday.
In all, ten WWA National Champions will be crowned on Friday with many of the same riders earning a bid to the Mountain Dew WWA Wakeboard World Championships, the final leg of the Vans Triple Crown Series to be completed October 3-5 in Orlando, Florida.
Though professional ranks will capture most of the attention at the National Championships when competition begins on Saturday with world-renowned athletes descending on Indianapolis to compete, the amateur ranks serve the purpose of growing the sport.
"With nearly three million participants, professionals make up a small piece of the pie in wakeboarding," said WWA Executive Director Shannon Starling. "The Nationals and Worlds give us an opportunity to bring everyone together
and recognize different levels of achievement."
The Built Ford Tough WWA Wakeboard National Championship will be nationally televised by NBC Sports on September 27 at 5:00 p.m. Pro men and women compete for $50,000 in prizes at each stop of the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding Series. The 2003 Vans Triple Crown Series Champion in the Pro Men's Division will be awarded a new Ford Ranger Truck after the World Championship.
The Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding, the largest wakeboarding series in the sport, consists of three championship-caliber events:
Vans Wakeboard Pro April 24-27 FSN - June 12 / 4 PM Local (Fort Worth, TX)
Built Ford Tough WWA Wakeboard Nationals August 21-24 NBC - Sept. 27 / 5:00 PM EDT (Indianapolis, IN)
Mountain Dew WWA Wakeboard Worlds October 3-5 FSN - Nov. 20 / 4 PM Local (Orlando, FL)
The Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding* and the Built Ford Tough WWA Wakeboard Nationals presented by Mountain Dew and Vans are made possible through the support of the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, Right Guard Xtreme, Fox Sports Net and NBC Sports. The Vans Triple Crown™ Series features the world's top athletes participating in premier venues throughout North America for the top prize purse in each of six Core Sports™ disciplines: Skateboarding, Wakeboarding, BMX, Freestyle Motocross, Surfing and Snowboarding.
JR WOMEN SEMIFINALS
(3 advance to FINALS)
1 Tamara Moores (CA) 96
2 Amber Hansen (FL) 95
3 Monique Cordelle (TX) 91
Barrett Perlman (FL) 88
AMATEUR WOMEN SEMIFINALS
(3 advance to FINALS)
1 Tristan Seley (FL) 97
2 Nadine Berry (MN) 94
3 Summer Young (GA) 91
Adrian Gentry (WA) 88
JR BOYS SEMIFINALS
(4 advance to FINALS)
1 Jacob Valdez (CA) 97
2 Daniel Powers (FL) 94
3 B J Hoekstra (IL) 91
4 Cale Middleton (GA) 87
Gus Shuler (WI) 86
Daniel Pate (NC) 81
Cody Coffey (IL) 80
Noah Franklin (CO) 76
Harley Clifford (AUS) 73
BOYS SEMIFINALS
(3 each heat advance to FINALS)
Heat # 1
1 A J Racinelli JR (CA) 97
2 Ryan Anderson (OK) 94
3 Eddie Valdez (CA) 91
Ryan Mocerino (FL) 88
Nick Mertes (MN) 85
Shawn McKenzie (CA) 82
Gunnar Shuler (WI) 79
Heat # 2
1 Tadpole Soven (FL) 97
2 Robert Southworth (LA) 94
3 Reed Hansen (FL) 91
Danny Burnstein (MI) 88
Phillip Aslinger (TN) 85
John Jeffries (FL) 82
OPEN MEN SEMIFINALS
(2 each heat advance to FINALS)
Heat # 1
1 Tim Clinton (FL) 97
2 Mike Schwenne (CA) 94
Brandon Graham (NC) 91
Perry Richmond (FL) 88
Travis Stewart (WA) 85
Heat # 2
1 Michael Bros (MN) 97
2 Austin Langston (NC) 93
Jason MacArthur (FL) 92
Scott Hussey (FL) 87
Justin Larson (AZ) 85
Adam Gentry (WA) 83
MEN I SEMIFINALS
( 2 each heat advance to Finals)
Heat # 1
1 Brian Reeder (VA) 96
2 Michael Vincz (IN) 95
Victor Daprile II 92
Clayton Nielsen (NE) 88
David Burstiner (CT) 85
Joe Magajna (MN) 82
Jake Stocks (IN) 79
Heat # 2
1 Jeffrey Anderson (SC) 96
2 Brent Starr (CL) 95
Nick Runyon (MI) 92
Brendan Findlay (TX) 87
Sean Legg (GA) 86
Todd Anthony (NC) 82
Heat # 3
1 Adam Fields (NC) 96
2 Charles Blackwood (CA) 94
Nick Link (KY) 88
Dan Klopp (OR) 87
E J Scofield (MD) 86
Jeramie Vaine (SC) 85
Joe Prebich (MN) 79
Heat # 4
1 Adam Wensink (OH) 96
2 Eric Miller (PA) 93
Paul Hamilton (MI) 92
Nicholas McBride (CA) 88
Nick Jarvis (IN) 85
Hunter Hanson (WI) 82
Heat # 5
1 Bryan Born (WI) 96
2 Mark Weikel (IN) 94
Corey Bradley (GA) 90
Gabe Fowler (MO) 89
Charles Bergquist (IA) 85
Matt Hoffman (TX) 82
MEN II SEMIFINALS
(3 each heat advance to FINALS)
Heat # 1
1 Matt Von der Ahe 96
2 Jonathan Vander Velde (FL) 93
3 Matt Hickman (FL) 92
Bill Boston (IL) 88
Justin Mastrud (WA) 85
Brent Anderson (MN) 82
J P Railey (TX) 80
Heat # 2
1 Sam Wideman (UT) 96
2 Kurt Robertson (FL) 95
3 Spencer Smith (OH) 91
Dayle Cartwright (FL) 87
Robbie Loftus (FL) 86
Kevin Michael (FL) 82
Mike Hook (KY) 79
MASTERS SEMIFINALS
(2 each heat advance to FINALS)
Heat # 1
1 Billy Garcia (TX) 96
2 Matt Vermillion (OH) 94
Anthony Monaco (FL) 91
Ronnie Romero (NE) 88
Kent Warlick (NC) 85
Heat # 2
1 Jeremy Leonard (NJ) 96
2 J BJeff Barton (NJ) 94
Robert B Moore (TX) 92
Erik Benedict (MI) 87
Scott Harwood (FL) 86
Chuck McCloud (MI) 82
VETERAN MEN SEMIFINALS
(3 advance to FINALS)
1 Mark Norwell (IL) 96
2 Pat McElhinney (TX) 95
3 Anthony M Racinelli (CA) 91
