Branson, Mo. – For the first time in the history of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour presented by Rockstar Energy Drink, the sports best athletes converged on Branson to compete in wakeboarding’s premiere circuit. While the venue was new for most of the riders, some familiar faces dazzled the crowd at Moonshine Beach including Harley Clifford who is aiming to start the season off with three consecutive wins.

Judging by Clifford’s performance in today’s Men’s Pro qualifying round obtaining the elusive hat trick is well within reach. The Aussie phenom put together yet another highlight reel performance that combined massive aerials and precise rail riding to post a 83.33 score and take first place in his heat. Also, putting in top tier performances today were Phillip Soven and Rusty Malinoski, who posted scores of 75.00 and 76.67 respectively to win their heats. The Men’s Pro will resume tomorrow beginning with semifinal elimination heats.

The Pro Women’s division has also seen domination by one athlete so far this season. Nicola Butler, like Clifford, Butler is looking to kickoff the season with a third consecutive victory and showed up in stellar form today snagging a third place finish in her heat, which was good enough to advance to tomorrow’s finals.

“Branson is the epicenter for the wakeboarding community this weekend and the venue hosted an amazing first day of action,” said Chris Bischoff, competition director. “We saw a ton of progressive riding today and have put ourselves in position for a classic final day tomorrow.”

The Junior Pro Men also held competition today and following suit with the pro men and women, Mike Dowdy is aiming to claim his third victory in a row. Dowdy’s season-long assault on the division continued as he posted an impressive 98.50 score to win his heat and advance to tomorrow’s elimination rounds.

Thousands of spectators are expected to flock to Moonshine Beach tomorrow to watch the final day elimination rounds and awards ceremony. Following the final rounds of competition, fans can stay and witness the jaw-dropping Rockstar Double Up Contest and Sony Big Air Contest. The events will feature top athletes performing exciting and innovative new tricks that aren’t typically attempted in a traditional contest setting.

In addition to all the on water action; on land, fans will enjoy plenty of great food; athlete autograph signings; chances to win freebies; product sampling, and shopping at the most cutting-edge stores for water-sports equipment including boats, wakeboards, wakeskates, sunglasses and the latest in wakeboarding and surfing fashions. At the Pro Tour’s entertainment stage, guests can catch athlete interviews, color commentators and interactive live music.

Saturday will be a ticketed event beginning at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at the gate: $13 (adult); $5 (ages 6-12); free (ages 5 and under); or $7 (adult) if purchased online.

For more information on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, please visit: KingofWake.com

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by ROCKSTAR is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla., and has the support of the following sponsors: MasterCraft, Rockstar Energy Drink, Overton’s, Indmar, Peavey, Billabong, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, Byerly, Oakley, Sayiwon’t, Epiphone and YOUR MOM magazine.

Day 1 Results MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Branson 

Junior Pro Men Quarterfinals (Top 2 advance):

 

Heat 1

1.      Tony Iacconi                95.50

2.      Christian Primrose       92.25

3.      Arnie Watkins              78.75

4.      Gus Shuler                   73.50

 

Heat 2

1.      Jacob Valdez               92.50

2.      Noah Flegel                 89.00

3.      Joshua Twelker           86.25

4.      Landon Kasey             72.25

 

Heat 3

1.      Gordon Harrison         89.75

2.      Joey Buss                    84.75

3.      Freddie Wayne           84.50

4.      Marc Kroon                81.00

 

Heat 4

1.      Keenan Allen              93.75

2.      Massi Piffaretti           89.25

3.      Jason Soven                84.75

4.      Mac Schramm            72.25

 

Heat 5

1.      Mike Dowdy               98.50

2.      Parker Segele              88.75

3.      Brad Teunhissen         81.25

4.      Merrett Fay                 71.50

 

Women’s Pro Semifinals (Top 3 Advance)

 

Heat 1

1.      Dallas Friday               68.33

2.      Haley Smith                 61.67

3.      Nicola Butler               53.33

4.      Raimi Merritt               46.67

5.      Tarah Mikacich           38.33

6.      Taylor McCullough     30.00

 

Heat 2

1.      Amber Wing               71.67

2.      Meagan Ethell             66.67

3.      Mellissa Marquardt     60.00

4.      Miku Asai                   48.33

5.      Corrie Dyer                 40.00

 

Men’s Pro Qualifying Round (Top 2 advance)

 

Heat 1

1.      JD Webb                      73.33

2.      Austin Hair                  66.67

3.      Shawn Watson             60.00

4.      Gunnar Shuler             36.67

 

Heat 2

1.      Jimmy Lariche            78.33

2.      Daniel Powers             70.00

3.      Pierce Homsey            48.33

 

Heat 3

1.      Tony Carroll                66.67

2.      Chad Sharpe                61.67

3.      Taylor Kress                43.33

 

Heat 4

1.      Dean Smith                 80.00

2.      Dylan Prideaux           70.00

3.      Adam Errington          58.33

 

Heat 5

1.      Aaron Rathy               76.67

2.      Kirby Liesmann          63.33

3.      Oliver Derome            58.33

 

Heat 6

1.      Steel Lafferty              80.00

2.      Shota Tezuka              73.33

3.      Josh Palma                  58.33

 

Heat 7

1.      Andrew Adkison         73.33

2.      Bradley Smeele           60.33

3.      Dante Digangi             43.33

 

Heat 8

1.      Rusty Malinoski          76.67

2.      Kyle Rattray                61.67

3.      AJ Racinelli                 41.67

 

Heat 9

1.      Phillip Soven               75.00

2.      Danny Thollander       56.67

3.      Zane Schwenk             33.33

 

Heat 10

1.      Harley Clifford           83.33

2.      Joey Bradley               65.00

3.      Julian Cohen               51.67