Indianapolis, Indiana (August 22, 2003) - Friday was a big day at the Precedent's Lake Berwind in Indianapolis as 10 National Champions were crowned in the Built Ford Tough WWA Wakeboard National Championship, second stop in the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding™ Series.
The ten champions represent the best competitive wakeboarders the country has to offer ranging in age from 8 to 50 years old.
The women were the first ones on the water today with champions crowned in the Girls, Junior Women's and Amateur Women's divisions.
In the girls division, Patty Hicks of Illinois took the top spot, just ahead of Indiana native Maggie Jaicomo who finished second. The Junior Women's victory went to Amber Hansen of Florida while Tristan Seley of Florida took the Amateur Women's National Title.
The male competitors began with the Junior Boys and Boys divisions. Daniel Powers of Florida took the Junior Boys championship while Robert Soven took the Boys division.
The amateur men's competition was broken down into five divisions for National Championships, Open Men, Men I, Men II, Masters and Veterans.
Two well-known wakeboarding personalities competed and won National Championships in these divisions. Matt Hickman, Editor of Wake Boarding Magazine took the top spot in the Men's II division. Jeff Barton, renowned television personality and commentator took the Masters Division championship.
The Open Men's championship goes to Michael Bros of Minnesota. Adam Wensink of Ohio took the Men's I championship. Finally, the Veteran's championship went to Pat McElhinney for the second year in a row.
Competition in the Pro Men's and Women's divisions will begin on Saturday with $50,000 in cash and even more money in prizes on the line in this the third stop of the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding Series.
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 FINALS
(all 4 qualify for worlds)
1 Amber Hansen (FL) 97
2 Tamara Moores (CA) 94
3 Monique Cordelle (TX) 91
AMATEUR WOMEN FINALS
(all 4 qualify for worlds)
1 Tristan Seley (FL) 97
2 Nadine Berry (MN) 94
3 Summer Young (GA) 91
JR BOYS FINALS
(all 9 qualify for worlds)
1 Daniel Powers (FL) 96
2 Jacob Valdez (CA) 93
3 B J Hoekstra (IL) 92
4 Cale Middleton (GA) 88
BOYS FINALS
(all 10 qualify for worlds)
1 Tadpole Soven (FL) 96
2 Reed Hansen (FL) 95
3 A J Racinelli JR (CA) 91
4 Ryan Anderson (OK) 88
5 Robert Southworth (LA) 85
Eddie Valdez (CA) 82
OPEN MEN FINALS
(all 10 qualify for worlds)
1 Michael Bros (MN) 97
2 Austin Langston (NC) 94
3 Mike Schwenne (CA) 90
4 Tim Clinton (FL) 89
* To worlds from Semifinals
* Brandon Graham (NC)
* Perry Richmond (FL)
* Travis Stewart (WA)
* Jason MacArthur (FL)
* Scott Hussey (FL)
* Justin Larson (AZ)
MEN I FINALS
(all 10 qualify for worlds)
1 Adam Wensink (OH) 97
2 Adam Fields (NC) 94
3 Jeffrey Anderson (SC) 90
4 Bryan Born (WI) 89
5 Brian Reeder (VA) 84
Eric Miller (PA) 82
Brent Starr (CL) 80
Mark Weikel (IN) 79
Michael Vincz (IN) 78
Charles Blackwood (CA) 70
MEN II FINALS
(all 10 qualify for worlds)
1 Matt Hickman (FL) 97
2 Matt Von der Ahe 94
3 Jonathan Vander Velde (FL) 91
4 Kurt Robertson (FL) 86
5 Sam Wideman (UT) 85
Spencer Smith (OH) 84
* To worlds from Semifinals
* Bill Boston (IL)
* Justin Mastrud (WA)
* Dayle Cartwright (FL)
* Robbie Loftus (FL)
MASTERS FINALS
(all 10 qualify for worlds)
1 J B Jeff Barton (NJ) 97
2 Billy Garcia (TX) 94
3 Jeremy Leonard (NJ) 92
4 Matt Vermillion (OH) 88
* To worlds from Semifinals
* Anthony Monaco (FL)
* Ronnie Romero (NE)
* Kent Warlick (NC)
* Robert B Moore (TX)
* Erik Benedict (MI)
* Scott Harwood (FL)
VETERAN MEN FINALS
(all 3 qualify for worlds)
1 Pat McElhinney (TX) 97
2 Mark Norwell (IL) 94
3 Anthony M Racinelli (CA) 91
WAKE SKATE QUALIFYING
(top 2 each heat advance to Semifinals)
HEAT # 1
1 Greg Van Wagnen (OH) 97
2 Jim Leatherman (FL) 94
Joey White (AZ) 90
Collin Wright (OR) 89
Mikey Grosse (TX) 85
Steven Schoehals (MI) NS
HEAT # 2
1 Brandon Thomas (FL) 96
2 Daniel Lovett (FL) 95
Steve Wahlman (CA) 91
Tony Berard (LA) 88
Brad Aersznov (MI) 85
Ryan Larive (AZ) 81
Mike Dacato (FL) 80
JR MEN QUARTERFINALS
(top 2 each heat advance to Semifinals)
HEAT # 1
1 Philip Combs (OR) 97
2 Ross Gardner (FL) 93
Leif Lacey (MS) 89
Daniel Walden (TX) 86
A J Haynes (ID) 85
Travis Propst (VA) 84
HEAT # 2
1 Justin Sellers (NC) 97
2 Dann Thollander (FL) 92
Ben Bazis (NE) 91
Eric Hesch (MI) 89
Alex Brown (FL) 88
Ryan Hickey (IN) 84
HEAT # 3
1 Kevin Henshaw (CAN) 96
2 Jimmy Wolf (AZ) 92
Mike Brady (FL) 91
Kyle Woehler (MO) 87
Tyler Heinz (CA) 85
Joe Greenway (CA) 84
