Darden, Coleman Lead Big-Air BMX Triples Qualifying Day Two
July 31, 2008 – 11:19 am PT by GregTags: Austin Coleman, Big Air Triples, Rob Darden, TJ Ellis —
Rob Darden, Austin Coleman and TJ Ellis led the field for the second round of qualifying for the Big-Air BMX Triples in Orange County Wednesday night. The field of 12 is set for tonight’s final, including Ricardo Laguna, Koji Kraft and Josh Stead, in addition to those who qualified Tuesday night.
Read on for the official press release from the night’s action and stay tuned for the results from the final.
Big Air BMX Triples Thrills Southern California Fans with Gravity-Defying Round Two Action
Rob Darden Wins Preliminary Round Two
LOS ANGELES (July 30, 2008) – Tonight’s second round of ASA Entertainment’s Big-Air BMX Triples included a “double back flip”, a few “front flips”, a “360° double tail whip”, and several “720°s” on the way to Rob Darden (Greenville, NC), winning preliminary round two and collecting $1000. The night’s top three riders, Darden, Austin Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.), T.J. Ellis (Moreno Valley, Calif.), performed a variety of tricks that displayed the progression in BMX jumping and shocked the crowd into amazed silence. At evening’s end, it was Darden’s clean, confident, consistent execution of big-air stunts that surpassed even the wildest combination of aerobatics attempted by Coleman and Ellis and left everyone eagerly awaiting Sunday’s finals.
Before Darden, Coleman and Ellis battled for the night’s top performance, three other men qualified earlier in the evening to join them in Thursday’s event finals. Mexico’s Ricardo Laguna, Illinois’ Koji Kraft, and Australia’s Josh Stead bested their head-to-head opponent to receive a spot in the final round of the Big-Air BMX Triples.
On Thursday evening, Darden, Coleman, Ellis, Laguna, Kraft and Stead will be joined by round one qualifiers Sean Logan (San Clemente, Calif.), Alistair Whitton (Chester, England), Ricky Moseley (Mason, Tenn.), Pat Casey (Placentia, Calif.), Tony Campos (San Francisco, Calif.), and Diogo Canina (Sao Paulo, Brazil), to compete for the $5,000 first place purse and two spots in the LG Action Sports World Championships.
The battle begins at 8:15 p.m. at the Orange County Fair’s Action Sports Arena. Reserved seats can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com for as little at $12.50, while limited General Admission seats are free, offered on a first come first served basis.
CBS Sports will feature highlights of the Big Air BMX Triples event later this year during ASA Entertainment’s Action Sports World Tour programming. Please check your local listings and stay tuned to www.bmxtriples.com for more details.
Full Results From Tuesday and Wednesday
The following are the results from Round Two (Wednesday Night). Top Six from head to head competition advance to Thursday’s final, along with the top six from Round One on Tuesday.
Quarter-Final:
Loren LaVerne vs. Ricardo Laguna
Winner: Ricardo Laguna
Mike Moura vs. Rob Darden
Winner: Rob Darden
Chris Hughes vs. TJ Ellis
Winner: TJ Ellis
Thomas Hancock vs. Koji Kraft
Winner: Koji Kraft
Josh Stead vs. Ben Snowden
Winner: Josh Stead
Dillon Stark vs. Austin Coleman
Winner: Austin Coleman
Semi-Final:
Ricardo Laguna vs. Rob Darden
Winner: Rob Darden
TJ Ellis vs. Koji Kraft
Winner: TJ Ellis
Josh Stead vs. Austin Coleman
Winner: Austin Coleman
Final:
Rob Darden vs. TJ Ellis vs. Austin Coleman
Winner: Rob Darden, Second: Austin Coleman, Third: TJ Ellis
Ricardo Laguna, Rob Darden, TJ Ellis, Koji Kraft, Josh Stead, and Austin Coleman move on to the final event on Thursday, joined by the top six from Tuesday nights Preliminary Round: Diogo Canina, Sean Logan, Rick Mosely, Tony Campos, Pat Casey, and Alistair Whitton.
The following are the results from Round One (Tuesday Night). Top Six from head to head competition advance to Thursday’s final, along with the top six from Round Two on Wednesday.
Quarter-Final:
Erik Soto vs. Sean Logan
Winner: Sean Logan
Dan Norvell vs. Alistair Whitton
Winner: Alistair Whitton
Ricky Moseley vs. Alfredo Mancuso
Winner: Ricky Moseley
Pat Casey vs. Michael Clark
Winner: Pat Casey
Tony Campos vs. Cory Walters
Winner: Tony Campos
Lance Harness vs. Diogo Canina
Winner: Diogo Canina
Semi-Final:
Alistair Whitton vs. Sean Logan
Winner: Sean Logan
Rick Mosely vs. Pat Casey
Winner: Rick Mosely
Tony Campos vs. Diogo Canina
Winner: Diogo Canina
Final:
Rick Mosely vs. Sean Logan vs. Diogo Canina
Winner: Diogo Canina, Second: Sean Logan, Third: Rick Mosely
Diogo Canina, Sean Logan, Rick Mosely, Tony Campos, Pat Casey, and Alistair Whitton move on to the final event on Thursday, joined by the top six from Wednesday nights Preliminary Round.
