Soven, Wing Take WWA Wakeboard World Championship Titles

Aug 26 2007 / Reno, NV
Five of the most talented pro male riders in the world hit the water of Sparks Marina today for the Pro Men's Division finals of the Rockstar WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra. All five riders were vying for the title of the world's best wakeboarder.

Rusty Malinoski, JD Webb, Erik Ruck, Phillip Soven, and Shane Bonifay all gathered on the Supra towboat to ride along the shore and be recognized as the five finalists of the 2007 Wakeboard World Championships. After their introduction, the five shredders got down to business.

Bonifay and Ruck were the first two riders off the dock and both put up a valiant effort in the finals to earn fifth and fourth place respectively. Then Webb and Malinoski hit the water. Malinoski had a great run, but Webb had the more impressive finish to take second place. Although Webb had an amazing run; ultimately, Phillip Soven (Longwood, FL), 18, took the top spot and claimed his second world title.   

"I'm stoked about this win, it's such a great honor to be recognized as a world champion," said Soven. "I've had such a great year this season and to add a world title onto it makes it so much sweeter."   

All eyes today were on Dallas Friday, as the most decorated female rider in the world chased after her fourth consecutive world title. However, Supra team rider Amber Wing (Yowie Bay, Australia), 24, pulled off the upset to capture the 2007 world title. Friday finished behind Wing, while Nicola Butler of the United Kingdom took third place.

2007 is clearly Reed Hansen's year. The 17-year-old pro wakeskater out of Groveland, FL captured the U.S. national championship earlier this season and claimed the '07 world title during today's finals.

The Jr. Men's Division has a new world champion, Mitch Langfield. Langfield (Narangba, Australia), 16, beat out five other riders to claim his new title.

Shawna Hoffman (Butte Valley, CA), 15, took the top spot during today's Jr. Women's Wakeboard Division finals to take home the world title.

The Boys Division hit the water today for their finals with Harley Clifford (Medowie, Australia), 13, claiming the world title. 

Jason Soven (Longwood, FL), 10, took home the world title for Jr. Boys Division.

To catch all the wakeboarding action from home, tune in to Fuel TV on Mondays at 9:30 p.m. For exact air dates, go to www.kingofwake.com.

The Rockstar WWA Wakeboard World Championships, presented by Supra, is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla. The championship has the support of the following: Rockstar, Supra, Indmar, Verizon Wireless, the U.S. Air Force, Reef, G3 Boats, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Gator Boards, Oakley, Fuel TV, the World Wakeboard Association, Cire, Subway, Reno-Tahoe, theliquidcircus.com, wakeworld.com and wakeboarder.com.

WWA Wakeboard World Championships Results

Men's Professional - Finals  Heat  01
1  Phillip  Soven  USA  95.00
2 JD  Webb        USA  92.50
3 Rusty  Malinoski CDN  77.50
4 Erik  Ruck       USA  75.00
5 Shane  Bonifay USA  60.00

Women's Professional - Finals  Heat  01
1 Amber  Wing   AUS  60.56
2 Dallas  Friday  USA  50.00
3 Nicola  Butler   UK   46.11
4 Hayley  Smith  AUS  44.44
5 Emily  Copeland Durham   USA   41.67
6 Laura  Lohrmann USA  33.33

Professional WakeSkate - Finals  Heat  01
1 Reed  Hansen USA  58.33
2 Ben  Kaiser     USA  43.33
3 Steven  Campbell      USA  36.67
4 Brian  Grubb       USA   30.00

Junior Men (14-18) - Finals  Heat  01
1 Mitchell  Langfield     AUS  70.00
2 Jimmy  LaRiche USA 64.44
3 A.J  Racinelli    USA  47.78
4 Joshua  Chabator USA  46.11
5 Jarrod  Askew AUS  31.67
6 Raphael  Derome  CAN  30.56

Junior Boys (9 and under) - Finals  Heat  01
1 Jason  Soven   USA  52.22
2 Cory  Teunissen AUS 32.22
3 Noah  Flegel    USA  10.00

Boys (10-13) - Finals  Heat  01
1 Harley  Clifford AUS  67.22
2 Jacob  Valdez  USA  59.44
3 Daniel  Powers USA  53.89
4 Mark  McMorris CAN 46.11
5 Mitchell  Askew AUS 32.22
6 Michael  Dowdy   USA   31.11

Jr Women Wakeboard - Finals  Heat  01
1 Shawna  Hoffman      USA 45.00
2 Holland  Finley USA  39.44
3 Danni  Petraitis USA  28.89

Men's Professional - Semi Finals  Heat  01
1 Shane  Bonifay USA 93.00
2 Chad  Sharpe  CDN  92.00
3 Daniel  Watkins AUS 80.50
4 Derek  Grasman USA  74.50

Men's Professional - Semi Finals  Heat  02
1 JD  Webb       USA  97.50
2 Aaron  Rathy   CDN  86.50
3 Dean  Smith     AUS  83.50
4 Danny  Harf          USA    72.50

Men's Professional - Semi Finals  Heat  03
1 Erik  Ruck     USA  97.00
2 Trevor  Hansen USA  86.50
3 Shaun  Murray USA  81.00
4 Brett  Eisenhauer AUS  75.50

Men's Professional - Semi Finals  Heat  04
1 Rusty  Malinoski    CDN  100.00
2 Shawn  Watson USA 87.50
3 Gabe  Lucas    USA  79.50
4 Keith  Lidberg     USA   73.00

Men's Professional - Semi Finals  Heat  05
1 Phillip  Soven USA  100.00
2 Andrew  Adkison      USA  88.50
3 Mikey  Ennen  USA  81.50
4 Kyle  Alberts USA    70.00