Finals Day

Byerly Toe Jam - Day 1 | Byerly Toe Jam - Photo Gallery

From 9 a.m. until well after dark on Saturday, April 21, the best wakeskaters in the world threw down everything they had at the Wake and Gap finals of the 9th Annual Rockstar Byerly Toe Jam presented by O’Neill.
 
Brian Grubb competed head-to-head against Brandon Thomas in what would be the closest showdown of the Wake event. BT came out slightly on top with various switch tricks, big spins and a 360 shove. Grubb had more toeside tricks in his run and an equal amount of hammers, but BT’s flow and execution is what made the difference, sending him to the finals against Grant Roberts, who beat Reed Hansen with ten hammer moves wake-to-wake.
 
BT’s hard work paid off, as he also topped Grant Roberts on his way to his first Toe Jam win since six years ago when he swept all three events and the overall title in 2006. It could have been his new outlook that made the difference. “My whole thing was feeling more confident this year,” BT said. “And my run starts when I’m on the dock just hanging out. I don’t stress. I don’t think about my run. I just go do what I’ve been working hard on all winter. That’s what helped me in particular this year.”
 
And there is no doubt the task was not easy. “The top guys are riding so well and I feed off that,“ BT said. “They’re doing lines up and down the lake that I thought would never be done. It takes a different rider to hang behind the boat. And the Nautique Byerly boat was on point. It gets up quick, makes tight turns and delivers a perfect wake with perfect speed. And the consistency of everyone’s riding proved how good of a boat it is."
 
BT also reflected on his relationship and motivation from the Godfather himself. “Scott Byerly has never given up. That’s the biggest thing he’s inspired in me. When I lose or am not riding well, I think how he never gave up and it keeps me going to do the same. And we always want to ride well in front of him. Everything revolves around him in my outlook and daily routine. To win his event is the ultimate. It doesn’t get any better.”
 
As the action shifted to the Gap event, the Saturday crowd filled in and posted up for quite a show. The final round saw a stacked lineup with Danny Hampson, Nick Taylor, Ben Horan, Reed Hansen and brothers Andrew and Austin Pastura. The Arnette Best Trick would be awarded to the best trick all day, going to Reed Hansen for a perfect 360 kickflip in an earlier round. Other big tricks were:

• Danny Hampson: Frontside bigger spin
• Ben Horan: Back tail shove, frontside flip over the rail
• Nick Taylor: Frontside flip
• Andrew Pastura: Big spin front board to fakie

Top honors went to 16-year-old Austin Pastura, who lined up a back lip shove off the dock into a front tail front big off the down rail. All the riders celebrated into the night at the awards ceremony immediately following and Byerly honored the best riders in the sport “These guys gave everything they had,” Byerly said. “They all pushed the sport once again and I’m looking forward to the rest of The Wakeskate Tour. It was awesome having their help at Toe Jam and they are going to kill it the rest of the season.” For more info on the remaining four events, go to TheWakeskateTour.com.
 
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Wake Final Results
1. Brandon Thomas
2. Grant Roberts
3t. Brian Grubb
3t. Reed Hansen
 
Gap Final Results
1. Austin Pastura
2. Ben Horan
3. Andrew Pastura
4. Nick Taylor
5. Reed Hansen
6. Danny Hampson
 
Girls Division Final
1. Jen GilanFarr
2. Renee Jaquess
3t. Cassandra Scott
3t. Krista Burns
 
Scott Byerly would like to thank Rockstar Energy Drink and O’Neill for their undying support of the Toe Jam as well as Arnette, Nautique and The Projects.

Byerly Toe Jam - Day 1 | Byerly Toe Jam - Photo Gallery