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Last night there were crowds gathered along the banks of the Arkansas to watch the Hooligan Race at 5:30pm. At 7pm the crowds were unreal, as the C1 finals got underway. It was still light out. The finals were Dane, Jordan, and. Dane took it with huge scoring rides, as he earned not only the National Champion Title in C1, but also the single spot for the USA C1 team going to the 2008 World Cup in Europe this year. Dane couldn’t have been more happy as he has not only made his C1 from scratch, but trained all season in it along with his kayak.
In the women’s class the Semi-finals decided the top 5 and it was
1. Emily
2. Adriene Levknecht
3. Nichole Mansfield
4. Eleanor Perry
5. Jessie Stone
Their stage was set for both USA National Championships and the two spots for the World Cup.
In the men’s Semi-Finals cutting from 10 men to 5 it was a hotly contested comp! Whoever made the top 5 would also be in the World Cup for the USA! (excluding any Canadians , meaning Nick) This round was just as big as the finals because you don’t get a second chance to earn your spot on Team USA for 2008. If a Canadian got in top 5 the 6th place finisher would also be on the Team.
The top 5 were:
1. Stephen Wright
2. Nick Troutman (Canadian)
3. Dustin Urban
4. Eric Jackson
5. Clay Wright
6. Coming in 6th and making the Cut: Jed Selby!
7. Bryan Kirk
8. Kelsey Thompson
9. Andrew Holcomb
10. Alex Mohn
Now the Finals stage is set for when it is totally dark (10pm)!
A set of spotlights on both sides of the river were used to light up the hole. Both sets of lights were on at the beginning of the women’s final but they would go off and on during the finals creating an extra variable for the ladies (and the men).
In the Ladies Finals- Emily came out swinging with a 41 point ride straight off and took the lead. Some switching went on in the 2nd and 3rd place as Jessie Stone got in 3rd with Nichole in 2nd. Then Adriene had a great ride and took over the 3rd place bumping Jessie to 4th. In the final round it ended in that order, but Emily’s final ride was a 51 bettering here 41 point ride that still would have won.
1. Emily Jackson (World Cup)
2. Nichole Mansfield (World Cup)
3. Adriene Levknecht (World Cup)
4. Jessie Stone
5. Eleanor Perry
The lights took a while to fix and the ladies had a 10 minute downtime waiting. Gary had a hard time seeing the moves and wanted both sets of lights working before continuing. The crowd didn’t dissipate however, as the excitement continued to grow as people were waiting to see how the final ride of the women would shake out and then watch the USA Men’s Freestyle Championship Finals.
It was pitch black, except for the lights on the hole creating sparkly water bouncing around in the foampile and instead of “greenwater” coming in it was blackwater.
Clay went first and had a 77 point ride, followed by me at 102 and then Dustin at 51 and then Nick at 112 and Stephen at 133. Stephen’s first ride was awesome starting off with a huge clean air loop and wrapping up with a back loop. He nail two Blunt/McNasty combos in the middle and really set the stage!
On second rides, Clay had a great ride upping his score. Nick got a 121 coming close to Stephen, while I didn’t improve mine and Dustin hit an 80. Stephen didn’t improve either so the order going into the final ride was: Stephen, Nick, EJ, Dustin, Clay. The river right light went out before our 2nd ride making it much darker and harder to throw moves. I missed three loops in a row on my second ride going in too flat and not able to see the “green water”. The first ride was the time to get your big ride in! That isn’t an option now, however, as the final ride is all we have left and it is dark!
Clay and Dustin were unable to improve on their scores keeping the order the same as they missed some initiations and flushed twice each. I went next and decided to start in the eddy with a right Phonix monkey out of the eddy in the pourover corner. I missed it once and flushed! I missed it again! UH OH! I bagged that move and did my left one successfully and then nailed an air loop, two space godzillas, a back air loop, and both Mcnasties all in about 20 seconds as my time was already gone from my flush. On the buzzer I attempted, but failed on a Back Pan Am. My score was going to be just under or just over Stephen’s depending upon the big air bonuses. It came out: 130! Just three points away from Stephen and I was now done! Nick was next with a 121 on his second ride but didn’t improve it on his third ride. Stephen came out and did his victory ride ending with a mystery move on the corner and keeping his 133.
Finals Results: The following was the placing and they all made Team USA (except Nick) they were all paddling Jackson Kayak All-Stars as well!
1. Stephen Wright- 133 World Cup and National Champion
2. Eric Jackson- 130 – World Cup
3. Nick Troutman (Canadian) 121
4. Dustin Urban (88) Bronze in USA National Championships (World Cup)
5. Clay Wright- 77 (World Cup)
6. Jed Selby (World Cup Team)
Sunday AM will be the Junior Finals for the Nationals!

🙂

EJ

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