FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
All photos credit: Geery
Tom Fooshee continued his reign on the cable at the second stop of the WWA Monster Energy Triple Crown presented by Alliance Wakeboard Magazine. On the final day of July 2010, the action was at Kansas City Watersports, where some of the best cable wakeboarders in the world turned out to vie for the title. Despite the best efforts of a global field of riders, Fooshee dominated in not only the pro finals, but the Ten-80 Obstacles only field as well.
Always modest Tom was elated to defend his title and take home the prize. “I was way tougher to adjust to the park, and since [KCW] is not my home park, it was really anyone’s game,” he said. “My tech tricks on the rail left me feeling pretty confident though and definitely benefited me in the end.”
Nestled just outside Olathe, Kansas, KCW was stocked and ready for the event, with multiple kickers, a roof top rail, a-frame, the 100-foot Alliance flat bar and more for riders to throw their best tricks on. Once the pro men’s field was whittled down to 8, riders went head to head, until there was only one left.
The final two came down to Tom Fooshee, and Lior Sofer of Isreal. In the wakeboard finals, riders got one pass, one pick up, plus a chance to throw one more Monster Energy trick to impress the judges. Lior rode well, sticking a BS 7, Crow mobe, 540, as well as some rail combos, but his fall on a mobe 5 opened the door for Fooshee. Tom was on fire, basically falling one time the entire day and landing a HS FS9, crow mobe 5, Pete Rose and an impressive boardslide to 450 on the a-frame in his final run to secure top honors.
“It was my first time in Kansas and it’s one of the best parks I’ve been too,” Lior said. “It was my first time in the top two and I was really nervous and excited. I am happy for Tom and myself for all of the tricks I threw.”
In addition to the cable heavyweights, some serious shredders mostly known for their skills behind the boat, such as Aaron Rathy, Kevin Henshaw, Jimmy Lariche and Bob Soven turned out. Only the occasional icing created more buzz than Rathy’s impressive performance including an absolutely massive HS900 off the kicker.
There was more than just pro men’s wakeboarding at the event too: wakeskaters and amateur men also got a chance to ride. Kyle Hyams rode strong all day and was able to fend off the local boy Colin Haas to take home the wakeskate win. In addition to wakeskating, Colin also competed in open obstacles on a wakeboard, taking third in that round.
It was a day full of non-stop action, so much in fact, that two days worth of riding was jammed into one day. That means tomorrow, the cable at KCW will turn for a freeride session, which will give everyone a chance to get out and ride with the pros! Be sure to check out alliancewake.com for more photos and video from the event.
Results
Pro Men
1. Tom Fooshee
2. Lior Sofer
3. Marc Shuster
4. Kyle Cameron
5. Cody Johnson
5. Jimmy Lariche
5. Aaron Rathy
5. Bob Soven
Open Men
1. Chad Forrest
2. Ryan Smith
3. Paul Hernaez
Ten-80 Obstacles only Open
1. Ryan Smith
2. Chase Mastell
3. Collin Haas
Pro Wakeskate
1. Kyle Hyams
2. Collin Haas
3. Justin Dahan
4. Brad Arnold
Ten-80 Pro Obstacles only
1. Tom Fooshee
2. Kevin Henshaw
3. Aaron Rathy