2011 Nautique WWA Nationals Opens in Minneapolis with New Adaptive Division
Minneapolis, Minn. – The top wakeboarding talent in the United States gathered today on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis to kick off the 22nd annual Nautique WWA Wakeboard National Championships, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. The five-day event, which concludes on Sunday, July 31, opened with semifinal rounds for 11 of its 23 divisions, as riders from around the country began their quest to claim the national title.
While today’s opening rounds saw several national titlists return to the water to begin defending their class crowns, three new faces turned out to compete in the competition’s newest category – Adaptive Standing.
Adaptive Standing is a division at the Nautique WWA Nationals, open to wake athletes with limb loss and limb difference.
“We’re all pretty stoked that they added Adaptive Standing to this event,” said competitor Mike Schultz. “It’s all about having fun, and at the end of it, if I can say I’m the national champion, that’s even better.”
Schultz, 29, of Pillager, Minn. may be competing for his first national title for wakeboarding this week, but “Monster Mike” is no stranger to competition. In fact, since Dec. 16, 2008, when his left leg was amputated above the knee, Schultz has won three X Games gold medals for Adaptive Snocross and Adaptive Super-X, plus several other titles and trophies.
“Action sports are fun, they’re fast and I love doing them,” said Schultz.
The 2009 ISOC True Grit Award winner took second place in his semifinal heat today behind Billy Tonis. But Schultz will look to bounce back in tomorrow’s finals to claim the Adaptive Standing division’s first-ever national title.
The Adaptive Standing division will host its finals tomorrow, July 28 at 10 a.m.
The Nautique WWA Nationals will start tomorrow at 8 a.m. and wrap up at 4 p.m.
The 2011 Nautique WWA Wakeboard National Championships, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink is free to the public during all five days of competition. For those who cannot attend the event in person, just “like” the King of Wake’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/prowakeboardtour) to watch all the live streaming footage.
The 2011 Nautique WWA Nationals will also air on the VERSUS television network at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Wednesday, July 27 – Day 1 of 5 Results:
Amateur Women Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Brooke Grassman 58.33
2 Leah Gibney 51.67
3 Abby Delgoffe 45.00
4 Brittany Jennings 36.67
Girls Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Taylor McCullough 70.00
2 Sofia Dinatale 56.67
3 Shelby King 31.67
4 Catherine Hair 20.00
5 Marla Fay 11.67
Adaptive Standing Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Billy Tonis 60.00
2 Mike Schultz 45.00
3 Mike Krohn 30.00
Amateur Wakeskate Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Michael Roeder 73.33
2 Jim Branton 61.67
3 Craig Buss 60.00
4 Austin Polterock 50.00
5 Daniel Prody 38.33
6 Nathan Champaeau 18.33
Masters Women Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Joy Manning 70.00
Veteran Women Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Allison Blaha 61.67
2 Kat Laird 43.33
3 Susan Sheehan 25.00
4 Paula Fay 25.00
Men’s I Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Taylor Kress 75.00
2 John Zdeblick 63.33
3 Tom Pazerunas 55.00
4 Scott Morgan 31.67
Men’s I Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1 Will Green 68.33
2 Tyler Heinz 58.33
3 Corbin Blanton 48.33
4 Michael Dever 36.67
Men’s II Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Brad Gearhart 73.33
2 Rob Cprum 65.00
3 Chad Warren 50.00
4 Nick Cankar 31.67
5 Nick Link 21.67
Masters Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Mike Vanpatten 76.67
2 Tim Nilsen 70.00
3 Steve Jones 57.33
4 Kevin Michael 55.00
5 Brent Anderson 48.33
7 Christopher Full 41.67
Veterans Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Billy Garcia 86.67
2 Mark Norwell 81.67
3 Matthew Vermillion 73.33
4 Richard Blanchard 63.33
5 Michael Fay 33.33
Jr. Men Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1 Jordan Gensler 78.33
2 Tim Burnier 71.67
3 Taylor Ingram 48.33
4 Jackie Sly 43.33
5 Tyler Cockrum 36.67
Jr. Men Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1 Noah Flegel 75.00
2 David Foreman 58.33
3 Jake Eller 50.00
4 Jonathan Abendroth 40.00
Jr. Men Division
Semifinal Round – Heat #3
1 Justin Lee 66.67
2 Nick Vaccari 61.67
3 Dylan Branch 45.00
4 Eddie Meyes 32.67
