Elizabethtown Heats Up On Day 1 of Pro Wakeboard Tour Stop #3

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky today in Elizabethtown, Kentucky as the top 20 Junior Pro Men, and top 40 Pro Men took to the waters at the 3rd stop of the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour presented by Rockstar Energy Drink.

The Junior Men hit the water first in the perfect conditions. Nick Galotifore slayed it, and rode away from a toe side 900 and a crow mobe 540 and had the best run of the round. The top 10 Junior Men moved on and will ride in the Semi Finals tomorrow.

The Pro Men started at high noon, just about the time the crowd started to thicken and the ol’ Kentucky BBQ smokers started heating up. There were 10 heats in the Pro Men division and the top 2 out of each heat moved on to ride in the Quarter Finals tomorrow.

There were a few rides throughout the day that really stuck out. Current King of Wake leader Harley Clifford went out and showed all the boys how to put two flawless passes together, keeping his hair dry and making the most technically difficult tricks look effortless.  Rockstar team rider Chad Sharpe had his best run of his season so far, winning his heat and making it through to the quarters as well.

Check out the pics below from PWT staff photographer’s Rodrigo Donoso and Spencer Smith.

Harley Clifford backlips the trasfer box during his run at today’s Qualifiers in Kentucky. The yellow bib signifies he is currently in 1st place in the King of Wake rankings.

 

 

 During his second pass Phil Soven grabs crail on this toeside back roll to blind. Phil went on to win his heat.

 Shaun Murray does a massive batwing to fakie during his two stand-up passes.

 

Jim LaRiche boosts this huge tail glide out into the flats during his heat winning run. He may have been attempting to go back to the planet he came from…

 Zane Schwenk out of Polk County, Florida grabs his board during a batwing. Zane has been riding the PWT longer than Harley Clifford has been alive!

 

Rockstar Energy Drink team rider Aaron Rathy blasts a massive stalefish into the flats.

 

With some of the best in the business, Shawn Watson bones out this Method during the first heat. Shawn advanced into the next round alongside Erik Ruck.

 

Already with two wins this season under his belt in the Junior Men division, Nick Galotifore again rode tremendously today winning his heat and staying at the top seeded spot.

 

MasterCraft team rider Rusty Malinoski does a switch 270 to front board on the transfer box.

With one of the best runs of his life, Kyle Rattray stood up two passes to make it through his heat and on to the Quarter Finals on Saturday.