Date: 4/27/01
Author: WS&M Press Release

Related Items:
Pensacola Triple Crown - Saturday's Results
Pensacola Triple Crown - Sunday's Results

Pensacola, FL - The Ford Ranger Wakeboarding Pro, the first event in the 2001 Vans Triple Crown (tm) of Wakeboarding series, jump started on Friday at Pensacola's Bayview Park.

The event promises to be one of the biggest wakeboarding events of 2001, as well as one of the largest ever. This first of three events initiates the series, which will bring unprecedented exposure to the sport of wakeboarding.

In Friday's action 32 competitors fought for 16 spots in the men's division. The 16 who qualified will go on to Saturday's quarterfinals to face the 11 men who are pre-qualified at the top of the Van's Triple Crown Standings from 2000. This list of elite wakeboarders includes 2000 Vans Triple Crown Champion Shaun Murray, 2000 Pro Wakeboard Tour Champion Darin Shapiro and Parks Bonifay who finished second behind Shapiro.

The 16 qualifiers may have an advantage over the wakeboarding superstars they will face on Saturday because of the extra opportunity they had to try out the new Ford Ranger Cage apparatus.

This obstacle leads riders up a 7-foot ramp to a Ford Ranger floating on a dock with a slider that runs the length of the Ford Ranger.

Look for young pros like 16 year old Trevor Hansen and 11 year old Froggy Soven to have some tricks up their sleeves. Both Hansen and Soven won their qualifying heats on Friday. Hansen earned top honors on the day with a score of 59.66, but Soven wasn't far behind with a 55.00.

Last season in Pensacola both Hansen and Soven were competing in amateur divisions, and both were impressing the crowds with their mature talents. Now the duo has jumped to the big time where their skills have been surprising everybody and serving notice that there is a new generation of superstars on the horizon.

Now that qualifying is out of the way, the stage is set for the really big action to begin. This event marks the initiation of the largest series in wakeboarding in terms of money and coverage.

For the three events of the Vans Triple Crown $200,000 is on the line. A combined purse of $50,000 is up for grabs in each event with the rest to go to bonus prizes and cash for the men's and women's Vans Triple Crown series champions. Also, the Ford Ranger Wakeboarding Pro will receive network television coverage from NBC Sports on June 23, 2001 at 3 p.m.

The Vans Triple Crown (tm) of Wakeboarding is made possible through the proud support of Vans, Mountain Dew, Ford Ranger, Right Guard Xtreme Sport, PlayStation, Rolling Stone, NBC Sports, G-Shock, Fox Sports Net, Wake Boarding Magazine and the World Wakeboarding Association. The Vans Triple Crown (tm) Series features the world's top athletes participating in premiere venues throughout North America for the top prize purse in each of seven Core Sports (tm) disciplines: Skateboarding, Wakeboarding, BMX, Freestyle Motocross, Surfing, Snowboarding and Supercross.

For more information on Vans and the Vans Triple Crown (tm) Series, please visit www.vans.com.

Friday's Results

Pro Men Qualifying (top two advance into semifinals to face top 11 already qualified, third place in each heat advances to the last chance qualifier)

Heat # 1
1. Ryan Wynne (FL) - 48.67
2. Kyle Schmidt (FL) - 46.44
3. Collin Harrington (FL) - 44.44
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4. Evans MacDowell (FL) - 28.44
5. Charley Patterson (FL) - NS

Heat # 2
1. Justin Evans (CA) - 55.00
2. Chad Sharpe (CAN) - 54.68
3. Bryan Kennedy (FL) - 53.02
===
4. Julz Heaney (GBR) - 46.72
5. Neil Brown (CAN) - 27.69
6. Drew Halford (MS) - 25.02

Heat # 3
1. Chris Law (FL) - 56.98
2. Matt Lockwood (FL) - 54.31
3. Gerry Nunn (FL) - 53.37
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4. Nathan Strange (MS) - 53.01
5. Nathan DeWitz (CA) - 35.05
6. Chad Morin (FL) - NS

Heat # 4
1. Froggy Soven (FL) - 55.00
2. Evan Kennedy (FL) - 54.34
3. Joel Cahill (FL) - 54.03
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4. Brad Hellerich (FL) - 33.38
5. Jonathan Calhoun (FL) - 31.69

Heat # 5
1. Trevor Hansen (FL) - 59.66
2. Daniel Watkins (AUS) - 58.35
3. Ryan Wolfe (FL) - 49.06
===
4. Randall Harris (USA) - 46.04
5. Austin Langston (NC) - 35.00

Heat # 6
1. Rob Struharik (OH) - 53.40
2. Gregg Necrason (FL) - 44.06
3. Nick Heaney (GBR) - 41.38
===
4. Rob Mapp (FL) - 41.14
5. Nick Weinacker (FL) - 38.68

Last Chance Qualifier (top four advance into semifinals)
1. Gerry Nunn (FL) - 57.35
2. Collin Harrington (FL) - 51.00
3. Joel Cahill (FL) - 49.35
4. Bryan Kennedy (FL) - 42.03
===
5. Nick Heaney (GBR) - 39.67
6. Ryan Wolfe (FL) - 38.35

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