Gravity Slasher Invade Salt Lake City

It was go time Saturday night in Salt Lake City at the Energy Solutions Arena with a full roster of riders and a pumped up crowd.  There is no better feeling than seeing the first rider out of the gate nail all his tricks and post a solid score, 86.0, which is exactly what Julian Dusseau did.  He was followed by Keith Sayers who put up a good number as well, 86.2, impressing the judges along the way with an exciting Rock Solid.  Rider three was Dustin Nowak and he worked the full sixty seconds for a respectable 86.1, however that looked like it would be a little short of what was needed to make the finals tonight.  The next rider to the main floor was Greg Hartman and his back flip nac nac along with a huge double grab Hart attack put him in control of the score board with an 87.2.  The last rider in the first session was Derek Burlew.  He pulled out the stops, trying to make it two qualifiers for the finals from the early round and his 86.6 gave him a chance pending the second half.

5050 BMX came out during the first break in the action and worked the crowd into a lather with a great display of the roots of FMX on the pedals.  Riley and the boys kept it pumpin’ on their next trip to the floor as well and you could tell the crowd really appreciated their hard work by the number of autograph seekers they had at the end of the night.

Our second set of qualifiers was led off by Drake McElroy and while he put together a solid run his total of 85.7 didn’t stand up for a trip to the finals.  The next man with a shot at advancing was the hometown kid, Sean Nielson, however “The Outlaw” jammed his knee and had to settle for an 86.0.  Brody Wilson rolled next and he made the most of his opportunity, drilling a massive holy grab as well as landing a back flip heel clicker.  He punched his ticket to the finals with an 89.7.  Posting up in the fourth position was Rich Kearns and he took an extra lap to survey the course and pump the crowd a little before getting after it.  Unfortunately Rich had some bike issues and had to perceiver for an 85.0  The final guy out of the chute was Nick Dunne and he lit it up, rocking a beautiful Captain Morgan and leaving no doubt about his desire to advance by finishing off his run with a super flip that secured him a spot in the finals.

After intermission we came back with a best trick contest between DMC, DB, Six Guns, and Brody.  Dunne, Burlew and McElroy did their able body best but Wilson knocked it out of the park with a gnarly back flip combo.

With our finals set Nick Dunne went out and set the bar with an 89.1 and was the first to occupy the Maverick Hot Seat.  DB was having none of that as he blasted right into his run and brought up the level with a base jump and a ladder indy grab.  His 90.1 looked pretty good as he took his perch in the Maverick Hot Seat and got comfortable to watch Greg Hartman take the floor next.  The Big Dog went all out trying to knock Burlew from the Maverick Hot Seat, and two back flip combos and a ton of great extension later he had done just that with a score of 91.4.  Our final contestant Saturday night was Brody Wilson and he was looking for his first win of the season.  He put together 80 seconds of terrific riding and his back flip kiss of death was the difference with the judges who rewarded his run with a 92.2, making him king for the night.

It was a great night at the Energy Solutions Arena  and we are looking forward to another fantastic run tomorrow afternoon as the Gravity Slashers come to the floor for the first matinee show of the year.  It should be an interesting Sunday so pick up your tickets and get ready for the fun.

David Knisley, mxannouncer@hotmail.com