Related Photos: Photo Action From Day Three

BMX Vert:
The Texan heat and bluebird skies that were expected all weekend came through in the clutch today. The day got off to a quick start with the BMX Vert final starting first thing in the morning. It had been pushed back from Saturday due to questionable weather conditions. The riders were anxious to throw down for the cash and an invitation to compete at X Games VIII in Philly this summer. None of the riders in today's final were qualified for the big event that is to be held in August raising the stakes of today's competition. All of the riders turned in solid performances that impressed the crowd. Jay Eggleston of Denver, Colorado put together two solid runs landing in fifth place overall. Third place finisher, Koji Kraft made a solid effort in the begining of his second run with a series of one footed tricks and technical bar spins while flying high above the ramp but called his run over with 20 seconds left on the clock leaving him in third place.

2nd place finisher Eduardo Terreros goes all superman over the coping.

Twenty-eight year old Eduardo "Spanish fly" Terreros put together a great run that was highlighted with a huge flair and a great mixture of tricks. He was going for the kill in his last run but came up short on the technical linking of two huge ariel tricks. Today's winner was Jamie Bestwick and he soared above the rest of the field showing that he has recovered from an injury prone year. Going into his final run he was clearly in the lead and winner of the invitation to compete in Philly, but put his cajones on the line and upped his score by three more points. He was riding super smooth for the crowd before landing a no handed 540 and bar spin to X-up. After the final had ended he decided to put on a show for the crowd. He was attempting to land a fast plant flair for only the second time ever. After repeatedly slamming himself into the vert wall he pulled it out for the cheers of the crowd on hand to witness this historic moment. Make sure to check out his guy in Philly.

Click Here for the complete Final Results.

Skateboard Vert:
Under blazing sunshine the Skateboard Vert finals went off in true "hot coals under the grill" fashion. The three heat preliminary lasted most of the morning narrowing the field of 28 skaters down to the 10-man final. Each skater had two runs this morning to qualify for the finals and a chance at the invitation to X Games VIII. With temperatures in the mid-90's it was amazing the final ten skaters had enough energy to make it through the three-run final. The final round started with a bang when Andy Macdonald, the eighth place qualifier, threw down a run that everyone was going to have to fight to beat. He had an unbelievable link of back-to-back 540's into a series of three technical flip tricks. It was going to be a tough run to top after the judges awarded him a score of 92.75.

1st place finisher Andy Macdonald throwing down a straight leg f/s air.

Anthony Furlong threw down a solid run with his technical bag of tricks putting him in close contention for a medal after the first run before an Australian by the name of Jake Brown stepped up to the ramp. He was on fire during run one throwing a series of 540 variations including mctwists and tailgrabs. The judges dropped a score of 89.50 putting him in second place behind Macdonald. The action was just getting started and somehow things were getting hotter as the skaters started runs two and three of the finals.

With a first place finish in sight, Andy had nothing to lose in his final two runs. He continued to throw his killer combinations with the style he has been kicking for years. The question remained: would anyone be able to top his first run? Brazilian Sandro Dias was flying with his wings of Red Bull and would give Andy a run for the money. Both Andy and Sandro have already received invitations to X Games VIII but that did not take away from their lack off motivation with $29,000 on the line. In the end, Sandro was not able to top the stellar style of Jake Brown, who's score of 89.50 kept him in second place and earned him a spot in Vert this August in Philly.

Click Here for the complete Final Results.

BMX Park:
The final competition of the afternoon was no let down for the packed house. The sun had begun to set but the park course was on fire with hot BMX action. Ryan Nyquist was the top qualifier out of the preliminary round this morning but ripping riders such as Chad Kagy, Dennis McCoy, and Allistair Whitton were on hand to give him a run for the money and an invitation to X Games VIII. McCoy took himself out of the finals with a hard fall at the end of his first run after putting together an impressive series of tricks. Allistair took an early lead with creative riding style. He threw down an impressive tailwhip over the roller-coaster ledge, a line no one else was using.

Tom Haugen 360 tail whips the BMX friendly booter box.

Dave Osato put down a run that was as smooth as you can get and the judges awarded him for it with a score of 90.40. As the number one qualifier, Nyquist topped all others with his first round run. With his unbeatable skills he was able to link some combinations that no one else could by using all of the extra large transition. Chad Kagy was the final rider with a chance to take the win away from Nyquist in round two but he just couldn't do it. He did throw down a sick run with a huge flair over a rail. Ryan took home the $10,000 for first place and "was relieved that his focus on getting the X Games spot had paid off."

Click Here for the complete Final Results.

Aggressive Inline:
After a slow preliminary round, the inline street finals exploded today in Dallas. With Feinberg's early withdrawal and Franky Morales getting bumped out of the finals, the field was open to interpretation by ten relatively unproven competitors.

Local favorite Randy Marino skated a well-rehearsed line through the Grand Prairie course, but ended up in sixth place. Sven Boekhorst, his usually flawless style marred by a few minor mishaps, finished fifth.

Randy Marino on the round bar.

But the real battle was waged in the top four. Carlos Pianowski of Brazil blasted around the course, even pulling a dangerous backside down the barrier rail, to finish fourth. Not disappointing by any means, Jaren skated with his signature power, pulling a 540 transfer over a healthy gap in the quarter pipes. Unfortunately, his skating wasn't clean enough to earn him more than a bronze medal. It was Northern California's Pat Lennen who edged him out for the silver with two distinctly unique runs that featured a 40-foot toe roll and a launch out of the course to a fifteen-foot drop. But the real story was Cameron Card, the rookie from Utah who skated the course like he was born on it. His grinds were both progressive and perfect while his airs showed a marked maturity rarely seen in a rookie competitor.

Stay tuned for live coverage from Atlanta, where the combination of heat and peaches should make for some interesting developments.

Click Here for the complete Final Results.


Related Photos:
Photo Action From Day Three
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