It was a great day for a competition in sunny Southern California today. We had almost 100 competitors come out for the Gatorade Free Flow Tour at the Ecke YMCA in Encinitas. Everyone in attendance, from the competitors to their parents, was psyched to be out here supporting the next generation of skaters!
And they had a lot to support with so much great talent coming out. The vert contest went off with kids coming from near and far to take one of the few spots in the finals. Coming in fifth place was Cory Juneau and his lipslide, cab 360, and frontside rock and roll. Fourth place went to Jesse McDonald and his big judo air, frigid, and air rock to fakie. Third-place finisher Joey Hamlisch was putting down some smooth varials, rock varial variations, and kickflip mutes. In second place was Tom Schaar and his big airs, tweaked stale, and blunt to fakie.
However it was last week’s second-place finisher, Jimmy Wilkins, who took the top spot and will be traveling from his hometown of Columbus, OH to compete in the finals in SLC this September. His final run consisted of a mute 540, stale 540, and backside tail.
“I was super pumped just to finally come out to San Diego, I’ve been wanting to skate here forever! It’s pretty awesome to win contest too! Looking forward to going back to the finals in SLC.” – Jimmy Wilkins
Skate Vert Open Results
1). Jimmy Wilkins, 16, Columbus, OH
2). Tom Schaar, 10, Malibu, CA
3). Joey Hamlisch, 17, San Diego, CA|
4). Jesse McDonald, 18, Wilkes Barre, PA
5). Cory Juneau, 10, La Mesa, CA
Skate vert podium
The junior jam category had a staggering 50 competitors (a GFFT record!) coming out to throw down. We narrowed the field down to a top 10 and had two heats for the finals. Gage Boyle come out with a third-place finish with his 360 flip over the pyramid, half cab heel flip, and big pop shove. Second-place finisher Luke McCabe put on a great show for the judges with his kickflip over the big gap, boardslide on the box, and crooked grind on the bank. First place went to Rene Serrano with his hardflip up the euro gap, pressure spin, frontside 360 up the euro, and kickflip to manual on the manny pad.
Rene Serrano -- Junior Jam winner
Junior Jam Results
1). Rene Serrano, 9, Los Angeles, CA
2). Luke McCabe, 13, Encinitas, CA
3). Gage Boyle, 12, Simi Valley, CA
4). Cody Pennyfather, 13, Encinitas, CA
5). Eddie Sablan, 13, San Diego, CA
Junior Jam podium
If the judges didn’t think they had a hard enough time with the junior jammers the Open class really blew their minds. With so much talent coming out of these guys it was difficult to narrow down the field.
Jake Hill took fifth place with a kickflip feeble and a frontside flip over the hip. Will Fyock took fourth place with a big spin pivot to fakie and a switch 360 flip up the euro gap. Anthony Estrada, two-time former GFFT finalist, broke into the top three with his back tail on the big ledge and cab heel flip on the corner hip. Bradley Elias took second place with a 360 flip down the six stair and a huge melon to fakie on the quarterpipe.
First place, and a trip to SLC for the finals, went to Brandon Villanueva, who took third overall at the GFFT finals in ‘09. Brandon’s final run really impressed the judges with his kickflip manual kickflip out and hardflip backside lipslide.
“Really excited to go back to the finals! Heavy competition but I’m glad I won.” – Brendon Villanueva
Skate Park Open Results
1). Brendon Villanueva, 15, Poway, CA
2). Bradley Elias, 16, Fresno, CA
3). Anthony Estrada, 17, Ontario, CA
4). Will Fyock, 14, Encinitas, CA
5). Jake Hill, 14, San Clemente, CA
Skate park podium
