Pierre-Luc Gagnon had an awful showing last month at the Right Guard Open but after winning X Games gold earlier this month he came back strong at the Wendy’s Invitational in Portland.  PLG tied with Sandro Dias as the top qualifier in Skateboard Vert, with Alex Perelson a distant third.  Thanks to a tiebreaker Dias received the top rank with PLG in second.  Fellow young guns Josh Stafford and Adam Taylor also made the cut.  Not competing in Portland was last month’s winner Shaun White.

“I want to get the 900 in one of my runs on Saturday,” Dias said after taking the qualifiers. “I’m feeling great after my runs in Prelims; I always love skating in Portland and with the new three-run format this year we have more time and space to do different tricks. I want to skate in Finals like I skated today, stay on my board, and try different tricks for sure. Maybe the 9.”

Already prequalified for the final on Saturday are AST Dew Cup points leader Bucky Lasek, alogn with Andy Macdonald and Bob Burnquist.  Fans will be able to catch the action on NBC starting at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET.

Here’s the lineup for Saturday’s final (in order)

10. Buster Halterman
9. Rob Lorifice
8. Adam Taylor
7. Josh Stafford
6. Alex Perelson
5. Pierre-Luc Gagnon
4. Sandro Dias
3. Bob Burnquist
2. Andy Macdonald
1. Bucky Lasek

Skate Vert Prelim Results – Wendy’s Invitational
August 21, 2008 – Top Seven Advance

1st – Dias, Sandro – 88.00
2nd – Gagnon, Pierre-Luc – 88.00
3rd – Perelson, Alex – 81.50
4th – Stafford, Josh – 80.75
5th – Taylor, Adam – 79.50
6th – Lorifice, Rob – 78.50
7th – Halterman, Buster – 76.75
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
8th – Millar, Renton – 74.25
9th – Ueda, Lincoln – 67.00
10th – Bastos, Marcelo – 66.25
11th – Glifberg, Rune – 62.75
12th – Hendrix, Neal – 62.00
13th – Gentry, Chris – 61.25
14th – Postec, Jean – 45.50
15th – Menezes, Rodrigo – 38.75
16th – Mayer, Danny – 30.50
17th – Furlong, Anthony – 22.50

If you are in the San Diego area this Saturday you can watch all the fun before the evening game between the Padres and the Cincinatti Reds. Keep reading for all of the details.

Catch Bucky Lasek, Others at Padres Action Sports Day this Saturday

This Saturday’s Padres game at PETCO Park will have a little vert feel to it as Bucky Lasek, SD local Alex Perelson, Lincoln Ueda and Neal Hendrix will show their stuff on a 40-ft. pipe at the 5th Annual Action Sports Day on May 24th prior to the San Diego Padres v. Cincinnati Reds contest.

Other athletes participating in Action Sports Day include BMXers Dennis McCoy, Coco Zurita, Ben Snowden and Austin Coleman. The event will be hosted by Dave Duncan.

A 40-foot half pipe will be placed on the wiffle ball field in the Park at the Park at PETCO Park for the performance, which is set to start 6:15. In addition to the demo, there will be prizes and give-aways from Vans and Camp Woodward. Following the game there will be a post game Family Fireworks show.

Fans can purchase tickets via the Internet at padres.com, padresbeisbol.com or by phone at 1-877-FRIARTIX.