MONSTER ARMY RECON TOUR
ROUND 2
Victor Peraza, age 13, wins the open division from
round 2 in Tucson, AZ
Solana Beach,
Calif. – May 30, 2014 – Victor Peraza takes the win in the open
division at the Monster Army Recon Tour Round 2 presented by Replay XD. This
makes him the youngest athlete to win the Recon Tour open division since the
Recon Tour began two years ago. The event took place at Premises Park in
Tucson, AZ where riders traveled across the US and even Japan to attend.
Premises Park
is always one of the most exciting venues of the tour. The setup allows the
spectators to be above the contest area, which provides an arena type
atmosphere for the athletes. The athletes get tons of encouragement from the
300 plus fans that were in attendance cheering and screaming for their favorite
riders. With the DJ spinning and the live broadcast displayed on a massive
projector screen hanging in the building, the event was the place to be. There
was even a halftime show with rap performers and break-dancers before the
finals took place. Ian Abbot, the owner of Premises Park, always
hosts an incredible event.
We kicked
things off Saturday afternoon with the 13-15 age division. Notable
athletes included Tucker Smith blasting his long blond locks out of the full-face
helmet and throwing huge 540s in the bowl. Local rider Trevyn Gibbs impressed
everyone with his riding and strength by ending up in 4th place
after he had just gotten his cast taken off his wrist a few days before. The
top three came down to Brian Vazquez in 3rd, Zhean Lafitte in 2nd and
Andrew Casarez finishing 1st. Casarez did amazing bar spin
combos and tricked all of the features, which helped the judges make their
decision.
The next
division that took place was the 16 + group. This featured some of the most
technical riding of the day. It was a battle down to the wire, but only
three can make the podium. It rounded out with Ethan Bray in 3rd doing
huge flairs and 360 transfers. Steven Hammond took second place showcasing
his unbelievable wizardry of tricks and balance on the street section of the
course, and Antonio Chavez took home the top podium finish in 1st. Chavez
showcased multiple combo tricks over the box jumps, 360 variations and used the
entire course to secure his top finish.
The Open
division was finally underway where the energy was at an all time high. Ryan
Guettler on the MIC made sure that everyone was on their feet and cheering as
loud as they could for all the athletes in the finals. It came down to
excellent riding and very close scores that created a nail-biting finish. Brad
Thomas, who showcased a wide variety of tricks and use of the course,
just missed the podium, finishing in 4th place. Ruben
Torres showed that he deserved to be on the podium finishing in 3rd with
his perfect bar spin and tailwhip combos. It was no surprise that the top two scores
going into finals were the Peraza brothers.
Their brother Kevin Peraza is a world-class Monster Energy BMX athlete
and it appears as if Victor and David are following in his footsteps. David
showed his power by hitting huge transfers and blasting massive double whips
all over the place. Victor, who was the youngest competitor in the finals at
age 13, knew he had to pull off something amazing to overtake his brother. He
did just that by tricking everything in the park and having amazing style and
fluid lines throughout his entire run. Victor will now go on to compete in the
Finals at Mike Spinner’s backyard in hopes of becoming the overall Recon Tour
Champion.
Special thanks to the Hookit brand partners: Monster Army, Replay XD,
Hyper Bike co., Movietickets.com, Pro-Tec, Sunringle, Deft Family, ODI, Snafu,
Fugoo, Vans, and Vital BMX. Huge thanks to Ian Abbott for everything he does
for the sport of BMX. Also thanks to
Ryan Guettler, Kevin Peraza, Danny Josa, Joe Taberno, Dylan Pfohl, Sean Zaidi,
Johnathan Burgoyne, the live broadcast crew, and all the staff that made this
event possible at Premises Park.
Final Results
Open Final Results:
1st- Victor Peraza
2nd- David Peraza
3rd- Ruben Torres
16 + Final Results:
1st- Antonio Chavez
2nd- Steven Hammond
3rd- Ethan Bray
13 - 15 Final Results:
1st- Andrew Casarez
2nd- Zhean Lafitte
3rd- Brian Vazquez
Up Next: Round
3 on July 19 at Ohio Dreams in Butler, OH. Register now at www.theReconTour.com.
View the Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e9yvgtexqul4z0w/AAAX4xSA0aiU8yu20DQQ0uUTa#/
