It was good to go back to Tennessee. It was the first US comp I did last year when I came over to check out the local scene. I went into the last stop ranked number 4 on the Pro Tour, and I really needed to do something special to take out this 3rd overall spot.
The conditions in Knoxville were gnarly, the banks of the river are seawalls so there were rollers everywhere, and it was so hard to judge what tricks to do and where to do them due to the rollers. I won my heat and was off to a strong start leading into the semi finals.
Unfortunately my good friend Josh Twelker who was just ahead of me ranked 3rd overall and was the only thing between me and the podium finish, was knocked out in the heats. All that I now needed to do earn enough points to push me into 3rd place. I went up to Josh and his Dad and shook both of their hands and discussed how fun the year has been and they both wished me luck on making the finals.
We had a really stacked heat with a lot of the best riders in my heat, out of the top ranked riders in the contest, 5 of them made up our 5 man heat. I had a really solid ride but so did all the other boys so I wasn’t lucky enough to move onto the finals but was still lucky enough to take out the fifth spot and claim my place on the podium overall in my first season on the US Pro Tour.
I seriously couldn’t be happier right about now. I got 3rd at Wake Games, 3rd at the Worlds and 3rd on the Pro Tour. At age 16 I could confidently claim to be the 3rd best Junior Pro Rider in the world. And the guys who finished 1 and 2 move up next year so if I ride the same Division, I will be starting as the top seeded rider on the tour.
Today I fly back to Orlando to pack my bags, and tomorrow I fly back to Australia. I love America, but there’s no place like home.
The conditions in Knoxville were gnarly, the banks of the river are seawalls so there were rollers everywhere, and it was so hard to judge what tricks to do and where to do them due to the rollers. I won my heat and was off to a strong start leading into the semi finals.
Unfortunately my good friend Josh Twelker who was just ahead of me ranked 3rd overall and was the only thing between me and the podium finish, was knocked out in the heats. All that I now needed to do earn enough points to push me into 3rd place. I went up to Josh and his Dad and shook both of their hands and discussed how fun the year has been and they both wished me luck on making the finals.
We had a really stacked heat with a lot of the best riders in my heat, out of the top ranked riders in the contest, 5 of them made up our 5 man heat. I had a really solid ride but so did all the other boys so I wasn’t lucky enough to move onto the finals but was still lucky enough to take out the fifth spot and claim my place on the podium overall in my first season on the US Pro Tour.
I seriously couldn’t be happier right about now. I got 3rd at Wake Games, 3rd at the Worlds and 3rd on the Pro Tour. At age 16 I could confidently claim to be the 3rd best Junior Pro Rider in the world. And the guys who finished 1 and 2 move up next year so if I ride the same Division, I will be starting as the top seeded rider on the tour.
Today I fly back to Orlando to pack my bags, and tomorrow I fly back to Australia. I love America, but there’s no place like home.
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