Watching the Vert Championship of the Gatorade FreeFlow tour must have been a nightmare for the pro Vert skaters. Youngsters, not even as tall as the great big Dew Tour sticker on top of the ramp slayed it, while a great audience cheered them on. These little guys all won their spots by competing in contests throughout the country this summer. Once they got to Utah, they destroyed the pro Vert ramp, met their heroes, and competed for some serious bragging rights. In the end it was Clay Kreiner who won the whole thing, and grabbing a ticket to Orlando where he'll compete against the Dew Tour pros in the Vert Prelims of the PlayStation Pro.

The podium posse is a talented young group. Clay Kreiner, Dalton Dern, and Sammy Schoonderwoerd not only had a style of their own, but each of these kids had awesome personalities. In 3rd Sammy Schoonderwoerd was a firecracker. The kid was too funny after each run tossing his hands up and eating up the cheers. This kid wasn’t just a joker though, with a proper McTwist and a gnarly backside 540 Sammy proved he’s going to be the real deal. The 2nd place Dalton Dern will be a name soon enough. This kid had back to back handplants, back to back 540’s, and some serious skill on the coping. It was all about Clay Kreiner though. 

12 year old Clay comes out of Simponsville, SC, far from the traditional centers of Vert. He is as small as they come, and the youngest in the Vert field, but rides like a freaking giant. Throwing tricks into the bank wall, flying probably double over his own head out of the gates, and landing 540’s and a slew of other gnarly tricks put Clay on top. It wasn’t just his bag of tricks though, Clay has a mini-case of Sandro Dias going on. When he gets some meat on his bones he’ll be capable of destroying the Vert world.  In addition to winning the wild card entry to the Playstation Pro Vert comp in
Orlando, Clay also won a bet with his mom, earning two fresh ear-piercing that should go well with his shiny new trophy.

But it wasn't only the top three who slayed. All eight skaters brought something incredible to the table, especially for such a rat pack of youngsters. Brian Kucharski, who landed in fourth, threw out a fingerflip and millions of different varial combinations. The 5th place rider was Jimmy Wilkins, and with a 540 and some serious speed into his first hit he will for sure be someone to watch as he ages. Tech master Joey Hamlisch placed 6th, and his constant presence on the coping was pretty impressive for such a youngster. Finish 7th and 8th were Jordan Price and Zane Timpson respectively. Jordan’s banger was a gnarly alley-oop kickflip indy, and it should be told that this kid goes big. Zane also had some fresh alley-oop material, and added in plenty of grinds and a rad air to fakie. 

Clay Kreiner

Dalton Dern

Sammy Schoonderwoerd

The Finals Results:

1. Clay Kreiner, Simpsonville, S.C. - 86.00
2. Dalton Dern, Apopka, Fla. - 85.00.
3. Sammy Schoonderwoerd, Carlsbad, Calif. - 83.00*
4. Brian Kucharski, Monroe, N.J - 83.00*
5. Jimmy Wilkins, Columbus, Ohio - 80.00
6. Joey Hamlisch, San Diego, Calif. - 75.00
7. Jordan Price, Daytona Beach, Fla. - 73.00
8. Zane Timpson, San Diego, Calif. - 69.00