The 14-stop qualifying portion of Volcom Stone’s 2011 North American Wild in the Parks tour rounded out in fine form at the Santa Clarita skatepark Saturday September 24!
If you haven’t been fortunate enough to visit Santa Clarita’s skatepark, do yourself a solid and stop by to roll around. The place is huge and packed with every obstacle known to mankind! While it has respectable transition areas, it also possesses an abundant loin-warmingly sculpted street section!
360 flip down the 6-set in zone 1
For various reasons, our 2010 visit to Santa Clarita fell in early June just before school got out for the summer. From our arrival to setup for registration to our departure later that day, the sun and heat were punishing and learned everyone a lesson. Cut to 2011 and the late-September weather was very nearly perfect!
Pat Rumney impressed the zone 1 gallery with this sizable b/s flip over the hand rail in zone 1
14 & Under division were unleashed upon the park like a pack of rabid three-legged hounds! They were clearly intent on leaving permanent scars as they followed their noses and quickly began gnawing away at each of the three WITP zones!
Terence Frazier getting after a b/s tailslide on the tombstone in zone 3
Rene Serrano and Jeremiah Neumann were hot out of the starting gates and had spectators and judges alike shaking their heads in amazement. For one, Rene Serrano nailed nearly 90% of his attempts and pushed the rest of the field to keep up! In short order we saw varial heelflips, f/s 360s, kickflips up the step-up and even a hard flip down the 6-set!
F/s smith grind on the ledge in zone 2 – Matt Harvey
The level of talent in the 14 & Under division was incredibly high across the board! This fact made life especially tough on the judges as they were called upon to separate several ties! In the end, Jeremiah Neumann held on for 1st whilst Rene Serrano was quite literally a half point back in 2nd and James Kim finished a close 3rd!
Ariel Cortes nailing a 360 flip on the step-up in zone 2
Next up, the 15 & Over division stormed the three zones like an unrelenting rebel force hell-bent on establishing themselves as guerrillas to be reckoned with! Based on the first few minutes alone, “mission accomplished”!
Volcom’s Dagwood (tongs) and Jared King (camera) discussing barbecue strategy with our helper Eric
Kevin White, Sean Imes and Jared Cleland lead the charge with rapid-fire tricks in all three zones. Storming the trenches, Caedyn Curto and Sam Bauer returned fire with some seriously impressive tricks! Solid skating by everyone had the judges once again splitting hairs trying to determine winners.
Jared Cleland (left) working up an appetite for all the free Gatorade and hot dogs
After the numbers were crunched, Jared Cleland was at the top of the heap in 1st, Caedyn Curto landed in 2nd and Sam Bauer destroyed everyone in his path en route to a 3rd place finish!
Half-cab noseslide 270 out to fakie in zone 3 – Kevin White
The Open/Pri-Am division was the last to get to work and judging by the skills I’d say they’re horribly underpaid! Matt Lemond and Jordan Maxham were just a few of the senior WITP associates to make it to office with productivity on their minds.
The step-up in zone 2 was a hotbed of action all day
Packing crackers and hammers in his briefcase, Brendon Villanueva was on fire from start to finish! Tyler Pacheco was promoted to Junior VP of Heavy Tricks as he accosted the three WITP zones with technical tenacity!
Tanner Lawler fixing himself up with a lipslide in zone 1
After all was said and skated, the results were in! Brendon Villanueva claimed 1st for his skills and consistency, Jordan Maxham was hot on his heels in 2nd and Matt Lemond rounded out the top three nicely!
Thanks to Toi Chisom, Mike Coash and everyone else at the City of Santa Clarita for having us back for the 3rd annual Wild in the Parks! We appreciate everyone’s hard work and support! Thanks also to Tjaden Brewer, Scott Mackey and Justin Zaren for judging, Electric’s Amber Attebury for tabulating, Chris Martinez for snapping all the photos and Volcom’s own Darren “Dags” Madrigal for hyping the kids and running the free barbecue! Last but not least, thanks to our WITP sponsors below for backing the scene with extra prizes!
