Grand Prairie, TX (April 26, 2002) - In a day that started with cold temperatures and rainy skies, sunshine and exciting preliminary results concluded day one of the weekend-long EXPN Invitational at the GPX Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, TX. The EXPN Invitational, formerly known as B3 - Bikes, Boards and Blades, is a two-stop competition organized and televised by ESPN. The event features more than 250 athletes from around the world competing in Aggressive In-Line Skating, Bicycle Stunt and Skateboarding. In addition to competing for medals and more than $200,000 in prize money, athletes are vying for an open invitation to X Games VIII, the world’s premier action sports competition, to be held August 15-19 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Known in action sports circles as one of the premiere competitions in the industry, as well as a place for up-and-comers to make their mark, the EXPN Invitational began its season today with New England-like cool temperatures and rain, yet as the final riders finished their runs on the Bike Stunt Vert ramp, the sun shone down, giving the crowd a preview to the weather in store for the remainder of the weekend.

Fans of both world-famous athletes and hometown heroes converged at the park to watch three exciting preliminary events: Skateboarding Park, which had highlights of points leader Carlos de Andrade kickflipping the deck gap; Bicycle Stunt Flatland, which featured a good variety of front and back wheel tricks from the athletes; and Bicycle Stunt Vert, where due to a tie for tenth place, judges decided to allow 11 athletes to compete in tomorrow’s final competition. The fourth qualifier of the day, Aggressive In-Line Vert, was cancelled due to rain. All Aggressive In-Line Vert athletes will move forward to the final round tomorrow.

Action sports competitions will be held throughout the weekend in Skateboarding: Vert and Park; Aggressive In-Line Skating: Vert and Park; and Bicycle Stunt: Vert, Park and Flatland.

The EXPN Invitational is free and open to the public. Doors open to the public at 10 am Saturday and Sunday. In addition to world-class competition, spectators can also enjoy the interactive village, which includes a climbing wall, body airbrushing, athlete autograph signings and more.

The second EXPN Invitational will be held in Gwinnett County, Ga. May 17-19. Both events will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning in June.

The EXPN Invitational venue is at the GPX Skatepark and Entertainment Center. GPX, Lone Star Park’s outdoor skate park, with funding from the City of Grand Prairie, includes an intermediate/advanced course, a beginner’s course, a world-class vert ramp and an in-line hockey rink. More information can be found at www.gpxsk8.com. In May 2001, Lone Star Park hosted the X Trials, attracting more than 37,000 spectators to the three-day event.

ESPN, the worldwide leader in action sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. The X Games, Winter X Games, EXPN 2Day, Tony Hawk’s Gigantic Skatepark Tour and EXPN Invitational events are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2.

Event schedules, results, on-going coverage, telecast schedule, photos and video of the EXPN Invitational can be found on www.expn.com.

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ATTN MEDIA: Photos from the entire weekend of competition (including today’s preliminaries) can be downloaded for editorial use on www.espneventmedia.com. Results are also available on the site.

Contact: Katie Moses, ESPN, 267-971-8250 or katie.moses@espn.com.

RESULTS Friday, April 26, 2002 (Day One)

EXPN Invitational, GPX Skate Park and Entertainment Center at Lone Star Park Grand Prairie, TX

BICYCLE STUNT FLATLAND PRELIMINARY
1. Nathan Penonzek, Vancouver, Canada 90.00
2. Trevor Meyer, Chaska, MN 83.60
3. Hiroyo Morisake, Tokushima, Japan 83.00
4. Michael Steingraber, Hamburg, Germany 82.60
5. Phil Dolan, Bath, United Kingdom 80.80
6. Matt Wilhelm, Chicago, IL 78.60
7. York Uno, Ishikawa, Japan 77.80
8. Stephan Cerra, Los Angeles, CA 77.60
9. Aaron Frost, Denvero, CO 77.40
10. Aaron Behnke, Orlando, FL 76.60

BICYCLE STUNT VERT PRELIMINARY (Tie for 10th place)
1. Jamie Bestwick, Aaronsburg, PA 93.00
2. Eduardo Terreros, Gexto, Spain 89.00
3. Koji Kraft, Chicago, IL 87.20
4. Jimmy Walker, Chicago, IL 86.20
5. Jay Eggleston, Denver, CO 86.00
6. Chad Kagy, Gilroy, CA 85.60
7. Mike Mancuso, Greenville, NC 80.00
8. Scott Wirch, McHenry, IL 79.60
9. Zach Shaw, London, England 78.20
10. Rob Nolli, Orlando, FL 78.00
10. Bob Kohl, Chicago, IL 78.00

AGGRESSIVE IN-LINE VERT PRELIMINARY (Preliminaries cancelled due to rain. All 15 athletes advancing to final round. Top ten listed below.)
1. Jonathan Bergeron, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2. Joe Ackler, Warminster, PA
3. Ryan Dawes, Plano, TX
4. Nel Martin, Barcelona, Spain
5. Carl Hills, Salt Lake City, UT
6. Randy Marino, Dallas, TX
7. Sven Boekhorst, Den Bosch, Holland
8. Jaren Grob, Orem, UT
9. Mike Budnik, Irvine, CA
10. Marc Englehart, Lansdale, PA

SKATEBOARDING PARK PRELIMINARY
1. Carlos de Andrade, Curitiba, Brazil 91.0
2. Chris Senn, Grass Valley, CA 88.3
3. Caine Gayle, Jacksonville, FL 88.0
4. Kyle Berard, Virginia Beach, VA 86.3
5. Wolnei dos Santos, Bauru, Brazil 85.6
6. Tyrone Olson, San Diego, CA 85.0
7. Malcolm Watson, Los Angeles, CA 83.0
8. Pat Channita, Garden Grove, CA 82.6
9. Dayne Brummet, San Diego, CA 79.0
10. Brian Patch, Bloomington, IN 79.0    Send to a friend  | Submit your photo or video
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