The Battle for Midwest BMX rages on in South Bend Indiana. The weekend scenario was Beginner / Pro on Sunday for the 4th Annual Kitchen BMX & Skateparks event that went down on Saturday. The story with pics on the Pro Class can be found by clicking here. Sunday was the day we locked and loaded over 35 of the area best Intermediate, Girls, and Experts to strut their stuff on the world-class course known to all of us as The Kitchen BMX & Skatepark!
Judges:
Josh Orr – Joey Ross – Jordan Bowen
We started out with the intermediate class, 15 riders in qualifiers as we moved to the finals later in the day these guys really stepped up their game and I believe that nearly every single one pulled their final tricks! David Boehm started out with clean barspin drop-ins from the 10′ tall quarter pipe. John Berli wasn’t feeling the best but came out swinging anyways and ended up with 2nd in class. The young gun, Keegen Rowley rode flawlessly though-out the competition, notables are starting his run from the ceiling in the Kitchen, clicked no footed cans both ways, just an overall smoothness out of Keegen allowed him to take home the victory!
Intermediate Top 10
1. Keegan Rowley 2. Devin Boehm 3. John Berli 4. Braxton Baty 5. Tyler Hill 6. Denon Roth 7. Gage Rohfritsch 8. Jusstin Brown 9. Brandon Collett 10. Zachary Merier
Up next we saw the much-anticipated Girls Class which is in its 2nd year at The Kitchen. We introduced each one of our female riders and then put 15 minutes on the clock to set the stage for a Girls Jam Style Finals! All the girls put in heavy work, each while smiling and having fun on the course. Danielle Cifuentes showed her talents (with a freshly broken jaw) and received 3rd place, Dani pulled a ramp to ramp transfer on the massive last jump during her last run that secured the podium. Kiera Bonifacio, the Canadian, pulled moves all over the course, most notable was the double peg stall up on the euro gap in the street course.
Then there was the top of the podium which went to Kitchen local Hannah Roberts. Hannah has a style and passion for BMX that allows her to simply shred the course as she cruised though pulling all kinds of tricks like barspins, tailwhips, and transfers all over the ENTIRE course at the Kitchen. There was some money on the line for a possible backflip out of Hannah, but this was not the time to send it. I love to watch all the girls ride and I love to see more and more interest from females in the sport. These females are role models for future women of BMX and I applaud each and everyone one of them for being brave enough to stunt!
More coverage from Girls Class can be found at BMXGirls.com
Girls Final
1. Hannah Roberts 2. Kiera Bonifacio 3. Daniela Cifuentes 4. Trista Hartman 5. Hannah Stevens 6. Crystal Stone 7. Haily Robbins
Expert Class reminded me of the day before when the Pro were tearing up the course. The class was packed with 16 riders to start as we went through quailifying in 2 heats. The class was slimmed down to the top 10 as Sunday night in South Bend came to a close we sent the top 10 Experts out one last time for finals. Judging this class had to be one of the hardest things all weekend long. Local Dylan Santa rode extremely well and he ended up with the 5th spot. Ed Rovi has been stepping his game up as he flowed around the Kitchen earning himself 4th place.
Bryce Tryon had combos galore and was one of the crowd favorites this year. Byrce kept it upright while shredding his runs and sailed his way to 3rd place this year! Gage Leiter, at just 69 years of age sent it hard with truck drivers, double trucks, and just plain clean runs that scored him 2nd place! The winner this year is Hank Kujawa, Hank came out with heavy moves such as one of the cleanest flip-whips I have ever seen and also one of the coolest and happiest dudes of the day. Hank deserved the win and I am psyched that I got to call all the action this weekend at the 4th Annual Kitchen Pro/Am Event!
Expert Top 10
1. Hank Kujawa 2. Gage Leiter 3. Bryce Tryon 4. Ed Rovi 5. Dylan Santa 6. Jonathan King 7. Dakota Christopherson 8. Dylan Densow 9. Tyler Lichkay 10. Mike Laurie
Current Standings in The Battle for Midwest BMX as of 3.26.15
Beginner: 1. Aiden Amburgey - 20 Points 2. Dj Martin - 17 3. Dani Cifuentes - 12 3. Dawson Schlater - 12 4. Tanner Buttery - 10 5. Lucas Schultz - 9 5. Andrew Mack - 9 6. Chloe Kappen - 8 7. Tyler Meyer - 7 8. Jase Orrell - 6 9. Rory Carmichael - 5 10. Nancy Minnich - 4 9. Jagur Eyckhoff - 3 Intermediate / Open: 1. Hannah Roberts - 24 Points 2. Hunter Eyckhoff - 17 3. Gage Sharp - 12 4. Reily Kirkpatrick - 12 5. Alex Liebrock - 10 6. Austin Posela - 9 7. Nico Vanderheyden - 8 7. Austin Wakeman - 8 8. Clayton Fetters - 7 9. Drew Kelly - 6 10. Michell Hanlon - 3
Expert / Open - Stop #1 Cleveland Ohio - Rays MTB
1. Nick Bruce 2. Rob Armour 3. Colton Walker 4. Tommy Crail 5. David Lieb 6. Cameron Girvin 7. Jeremy Ball 8. Chris Gerber 9. Trent Newkirk 10. Lukas Halahan 11. Nathan Halahan 12. Adam Alman 13. Lee Gaskin 14. Johnny Delbalso 15. Vince Smith
Expert / Open - Stop #2 - The Fort Wayne Indoor 1. Chase Pauza 2. Jonathan King 3. Dylan Densow 4. Danny Rumple 5. Michael Teal 6. Daniel Hite 7. Matt Hakey 8. Jordan Stark 9. Chris Gerber Expert - Stop #3 - The Kitchen BMX & Skatepark
1. Hank Kujawa
2. Gage Leiter
3. Bryce Tryon
4. Ed Rovi
5. Dylan Santa
6. Jonathan King
7. Dakota Christopherson
8. Dylan Densow
9. Tyler Lichkay
10. Mike Laurie
Next Stop and Final Stop of the 2015 Battle for Midwest BMX is OHIO DREAMS in Butler, Ohio!
