Volcom Time!

Volcom Stone's 2011 North American Wild in the Parks saw a legendary display of skateboard trickery at the Heritage Skate Plaza in St. Cloud, Minnesota on Saturday, July 9th! This may be your first look at the brand new St. Cloud Skate Plaza and we were excited to be the first ones invited to hold an event at the park, or should I say, plaza. With amazing street-type "spot" sections in every direction, it was a perfect fit for the day's madness to come. As we arrived at ground zero the morning of the WITP, the plaza was buzzing with spectators and skaters alike getting ready for the day to begin. This 25,000 sq foot facility was pushed to its bursting point with the spectators getting their vocal chords warmed up during practice. The stage was set and it was soon time to blow the roof off the place! The 14 & under division set the tone of the day, skating like it was 1999. Instead of wearing sequent clothing and playing catchy tunes, these groms traded up for skate shoes and stomping hammers left and right. Jonathon Reese came out dropping the gloves with a vast variety of tricks like Backside Kickflips, Frontside Big Spins, and even a Kickflip Frontside Feeble to solidify himself in 1st for his efforts. Benny Milam came in with a solid 2nd, and Edward (Eddie) Fauth wrapped up the top three, placing 3rd for the day! The 15 & over division was the largest field of the day and this group of rippers was chomping at the bit to step it up to the next level. With a full-scale attack on all the features, these rippers did not disappoint anyone! We saw Nollie Frontside Heelflips, smooth Backside Tailslides, and huge Backside 360 variations out of these guys. Timmy Johnson was crushing it all day and he landed in top spot in 1st, Andrew Leibman knew what he was doing placing 2nd, and Corey Milleih rounded things out nicely in 3rd. With the temperature rising and the sauna-like humidity in full effect, the Open division was ready and willing to give us the heater. We like to call these heavy hitters the Open division, but some may even consider them already in the major leagues. The crowd of spectators looked like they were watching a triple play as their heads were spinning in circles to catch all of the action. Within a blink of an eye Nollie Frontside Heelflip from the kicker into the big bank, Kickflip Backside Tailslide on the 5-stair rail, and to cap it off a Backside Tail Bigflip out on the double set happened for all to see! Luke Hampton was on a mission of destruction all day long, powering through his bag of tricks from start to finish on the way to a first place finish! Not to be outdone, Dan Coe was busy turning heads and ended up with an impressive 2nd! Jack Olson tidied things up with a 3rd place finish due to his outstanding efforts. Thanks to The Youth Shelter Supply and Corey Schneider for all their WITP support from A to Z. Thanks also to our judges Eric Schiffler, Jason Cole, and Mike Chau for sticking with us through the heat. Special thanks to Volcom's Emmet Klocker, Andy Conrad, and all of our WITP sponsors below for stoking out the winners with extra prizes! ELECTRIC VISUAL TRANSWORLD SKATEBOARDING FLIP SKATEBOARDS SIEGE AUDIO GATORADE BANSHEE BUNGEE -BDJ Photos: Jake Rennaker/Tom Anderson Results: 14 & Under: 1st: Jonathan Reese 2nd: Benny Milam 3rd: Edward Fauth 4th: Logan Mozey 5th: Caleb Gibson 6th: Tanner Van Vark 7th: Henry Gartland 15 & Over: 1st: Timmy Johnson 2nd: Andrew Leibman 3rd: Corey Milleih 4th: Zach Anderson 5th: Dalton Jones 6th: Jack Lunt 7th: Tyler Thomas Open: 1st: Luke Hampton- $250 2nd: Dan Coe - $150 3rd: Jack Olson - $100 4th: David Nelson 5th: Ryan Mahowald 6th: Eli Rashad 7th: Alex Wright Electric's "Hype of the Day": Dan Coe - $50 Our old buddy Luke Hampton was on fire and took home top honors --> Kickflip b/s tailslide Here's a 360 flip floating down the double-set David Nelson had his A-game on display. Crooked grind pop over Thanks to Volcom's Emmet Klocker and Andy Conrad for manning the grill and Gatorade for hooking up all the drinks A b/s 5-0 in progress here Tommy Johnson making a f/s tailslide f/s bigspin look elementary Tickling the crowd with a f/s bluntslide How about a nollie f/s heelflip? No problem for Jack Olson Good lookin' b/s crooked grind on the handrail Here's a nollie heelflip courtesy of WITP veteran Jesse Kruger Jonathan Reese getting things done on the double-set with a f/s bigspin