Chris Cole led from start to finish to defend his title in the men's
skateboard street event this afternoon at Home Depot Center.
Cole, a 25-year-old from Levittown, Pa., finished with a three-
round average score of 94.33 points. Greg Lutzka of Huntington
Beach broke his board in the opening round, but came back to
finish second with a 93.42 average. Jereme Rogers of Boston was
third at 87.42, and Ryan Sheckler of San Clemente dropped from
second after the first round to a fourth-place finish at 87.17.
Cole said he was impressed with the course layout, which feature
a few obstacles he had never before tried to skate. His favorite
trick was an ollie 360 heel flip over a loose chain that was
secured to two metal posts. After he cleared the chain, he had
about an eight-foot drop to the bottom of the ramp.
"I had to kind of adapt to make that,'' Cole said. "It wasn't really
as much new tricks as new obstacles.''
Lutzka, a 22-year-old who grew up in Milwaukee, was in third
place after the first round, swapped decks and then dominated
the second round with a score of 96.00. His best trick of the round
was a 270 flip switch front board grind on a knee-high flat rail, a
maneuver he had been working on for two months.
"I thought I gave it my all, threw down tricks I've never even
tried before,'' he said. "I'm pretty stoked, pretty burnt, pretty
beat.''
Men's Skateboard Street Finals
1. Chris Cole 94.33
2. Greg Lutzka.41
3. Jereme Rogers 87.41
4. Ryan Sheckler 87.16
5. Tommy Sandoval 86.25
6. Paul Rodriguez 86.00
7. Mark Appleyard 84.91
8. Eric Koston 82.75
9. Andrew Reynolds 80.50
10. Nick Dompierre 78.41