April 29 Raleigh, North Carolina
When I stepped off the plane, the day before the Ryan's World outdoor amateur competition was to be held, rain is all I saw. For the rest of the day it rained, so myself and one of my judges, Josh Amacher headed to Ryan's World indoor park in Raleigh. As we entered the place we were greeted by many friends from all over the southest. Dre Powell and Ryan Purcell and two other judges were in the house and ripping. After a good session we called it a night, and prayed for sun the next day. As I woke up and looked outside it seemed like things were going to be ok. The sun was out and it was drying up fast. We got to the park and kids were already waiting for the ramps to dry a little more so they could start rolling. Things kicked off with our only 12 and under skater, John Motley, who was barely the height of the smallest ramps, but held his own. In the open division it was Erich Bilal taking first, with Houstan Hanner in second and Lathan Klag in third. It then came down to the experts. Things were going to be tight with many great skaters showing up. Chris Johns and Chris Zink both skated super smooth and technical to take second and first respectively with Will Gordon taking third. But the definite surprise of the day was a great fourth place run by Joseph Alderson, who is one to watch out for.