2008 Volcom Wild In The Parks: Stop 5 - The 5th stop of the 2008 Wild in the Parks tour went down on Saturday, June 14th at Project 58 Skatepark in Raleigh, NC!
2008 Volcom Wild In The Parks: Stop 5
The 5th stop of the 2008 Wild in the Parks tour went down on Saturday, June 14th at Project 58 Skatepark in Raleigh, NC!
It had been two long years since our last visit to Raleigh for a WITP so it was high time we went back to pay a visit to our friends at Project 58. The park is adjacent to a shop called Vertical Urge. Todd Canipe is the man behind the magic at both and runs a pretty tight ship. His crew is solid and go out of their way to make sure you’re well taken care of (thanks Frank & Josh)! The shop itself is massive and contains a lot of everything. If you’re craving a little something something after skating, the scene also contains a little café-style set up that will keep you satiated.
The contest kicked off in fine fashion with the 14 & Under Division getting a chance to dig into their bag of tricks first. Consisting of 4 packed heats, this group of rippers knew they needed to find a way to stand out from the crowd! From Maryland to Kentucky to Georgia, kids showed up from all over to give the locals a run for their money! Mission accomplished. Everyone ripped and the judges could barely keep up! At the end of the day, it was Thomas Dristas taking home 1st, Daniel Crowe sqeezed into 2nd and Connner Smallwood locked down third.
The 15 & Over Division was up next and picked up right where the younger group had left off! A smorgasbord of hammers were thrown down lickity split and these guys showed no signs of letting up. We saw front blunts, bennys, switch three-flips, flip back lips and more then a few buttery tailslides. The technical wizardry on display was enough to make us wonder if, or how much, the upcoming Pro-Am Division could possibly step it up. After all was skated and destroyed, Brandon Nelson claimed top honors with Greyson Gardlik in 2nd and Colin Allen checking in with a close 3rd!
The Pro-Am Division closed out the day’s skating and also shut down the three WITP zones. After things wrapped up, the boys and I agreed that the Raleigh Pro-Am Division contained one of the highest overall levels of talent we’d see in while! With chaps like Connor Champion, Robbie Kerr and Kent Willard looking to draw blood, its no surprise that the talent level was so impressive. All three WITP contest zones were destroyed in the first few minutes so the rest of the heat turned into more of a demo then anything. Madness, I say to you. After the final seconds ticked away, Connor Champion took 1st, Kent Willard 2nd and Robbie Kerr landed in 3rd. The scores were tight!
Thanks to Todd Canipe and the rest of the good people at Vertical Urge Skateshop and Project 58 skatepark. All the hard work and support these guys put in was insane! Thanks also to Marcus Ward, Rich Previte and Alex Traboulsi for judging plus Frank and Josh at Vertical for helping us cross T’s and dot i’s. Last but not least, thanks to Electric Visual for stoking the winners out with shades!
Results:
14 & Under
1st: Thomas Dristas 2nd: Daniel Crowe 3rd: Conner Smallwood 4th: Jackson Davis 5th: Lucas Tanthorey 6th: Jake Eaton 7th: Ian Mathews
15 & Over
1st: Brandon Nelson 2nd: Greyson Gardlik 3rd: Colin Allen 4th: Sterling Smith 5th: Tim Mandzie 6th: Dustin Hall 7th: Ty Moss
Pro-Am Division
1st: Connor Champion 2nd: Kent Willard 3rd: Robbie Kerr 4th: Joel Mercier 5th: Zack Whyel 6th: Evan Lawrence 7th: Ryan Verderber
