Watercross: A recap of the IJSBA Watercross Nationals

(Photo of Tera Laho courtesy of IJSBA.)

Tera Laho pulled off a double victory and Mark Queen, Karine Paturel, Stuart Rasmussen and Darryl Robbins also won personal watercraft racing Pro-Am national titles Sunday on J. Percy Priest Lake outside Nashville, concluding the 2002 International Jet Sports Boating Association's Watercross Nationals.

Laho, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., won her eighth and ninth overall IJSBA National Championships. She rode a Polaris watercraft to her first Pro-Am Ski stock title and a Yamaha to her eighth overall and sixth consecutive Pro-Am Women Ski crown.

Riding a Yamaha in Pro-Am Women Ski to a pair of 12-lap moto victories and a second in the individually-timed slalom portion, Laho continued her championship run on a Polaris in the nearly all-male Pro-Am Ski Stock class.

In her second class, Laho finished third and second in her two 15-lap motos and first in slalom.

Queen, Thornton, Ill., used 2-1 moto finishes and a first in slalom to earn the IJSBA Pro-Am Runabout 1200 Stock National Championship on a Polaris.

France's Paturel, who resides in Melbourne, Fla., won both of her 15-lap motos on a Yamaha and finished second in slalom to earn her sixth IJSBA National Championship in Pro-Am Women Runabout.

From Lantana, Fla., Rasmussen won a pair of 25-lap motos and was second in slalom on a Sea-Doo to earn his second straight IJSBA Pro-Am Runabout 800 SS National Championship.

In Pro-Am Sport, Robbins, Huntingtown, Md., used 1-2 moto finishes and a fourth in slalom on a Sea-Doo to earn his first IJSBA Pro-Am National Championship.

Laho and Queen both originally finished second, but were awarded their respective championships when the IJSBA disqualified the apparent winners in their classes.

Both disqualified for unspecific violations discovered during mandatory post-race IJSBA tech inspections, Rob Flores, Las Vegas, was disqualified from the Pro-Am Ski class and Rasmussen was disqualified from Pro-Am Runabout 1200 Stock.

"I new I had a great shot to win the women's class, but this was the best I've done against the men," said Laho. "I was pleased to earn the silver and the gold is just a big bonus. I'm in pretty good shape right now, but after this week, I'm sure I'll have a big target on my back in October at the IJSBA World Finals."

IJSBA National Championship crowns were awarded on the combination of finish in either closed course motos or heat races along with the individually-timed slalom competition.

Among the other events Sunday, Robert Pillus, Melbourne, Fla., won his first Amateur Freestyle national title, receiving a 47.7 score on a Yamaha.

A pair of winners came from Tennessee. Ryan Hardwick, of Sevierville, rode a Yamaha to victory in Expert Runabout 1200 SS and Neil Ohrdorf, of Murfreesboro, won on a Yamaha in Amateur Ski Modified.

A total of 1,099 entries from 42 States competed for 39 IJSBA National Championships in Pro-Am, Expert, Amateur and Novice divisions in the inaugural IJSBA WATERFEST 2002, a seven-day PWC competition and entertainment event which showcased the positive aspects of PWC as a lifestyle sport for consumers and spectators.

Participants competed for a portion of the more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, enroute to the prestigious IJSBA National Championship titles in 32 Closed Course and six Endurance racing classes as well as Amateur Freestyle.

The combination of National Championship closed-course and endurance competitions, together with exciting recreational PWC events, making this an extremely unique first-time event.

IJSBA National Champions automatically qualify for the massive 21st Annual IJSBA World Finals, to be held Oct. 6-13 in Lake Havasu, Ariz.

2002 IJSBA Pro-Am National Champions (crowned Sunday, Aug. 18)

* Pro-Am Runabout 1200 Stock-Mark Queen, Thornton, Ill., Polaris * Pro-Am Women Runabout 1200 Ltd.-Karine Paturel, Melbourne, Fla., Yamaha * Pro-Am Ski Stk.-Tera Laho, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Polaris * Pro-Am Women Ski Ltd.-Tera Laho, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Yamaha * Pro-Am Runabout 800 SS-Stuart Rasmussen, Lantana, Fla., Sea-Doo * Pro-Am Sport SS-Darryl Robbins, Huntingtown, Md., Sea-Doo

2002 IJSBA Expert National Champions (crowned Sat. and Sun., Aug. 17-18)

* Expert Runabout 1200 SS-Ryan Hardwick, Sevierville, Tenn., Yamaha * Expert Runabout 1200 Ltd.-Jo Jo Mannise, North Syracuse, N.Y., Sea-Doo * Expert Ski SS-Tim Bushman, Livermore, Calif., Kawasaki * Expert Ski Ltd.-Warren Baze, Kennewick, Wash., Yamaha * Expert Runabout 800 SS-Craig Ingram, Norman, Okla., Sea-Doo * Expert Runabout 800 Ltd.-Dusty Bury, Lake Placid, Fla., Polaris * Expert Veteran Ski SS-Rob Flores, Las Vegas, Kawasaki * Amateur Freestyle-Robert Pillus, Melbourne, Fla., Yamaha

2002 IJSBA Amateur National Champions (crowned Sunday, Aug. 18)

* Amateur Runabout 1200 Modified-Brian Silveira, Pleasanton, Calif., Sea-Doo * Amateur Ski Mod-Neil Ohrdorf, Murfreesboro, Tenn., Yamaha * Amateur Veteran Runabout 1200 SS-Craig Ingram, Norman, Okla., Sea-Doo * Master Ski Veteran Mod-Don Morningstar, Baltimore, Yamaha

2002 IJSBA Endurance National Champions (crowned Thursday, Aug. 15)

* Pro-Am Runabout 1200Super Stock-Dustin Motzouris, South Africa, Kawasaki * Amateur Runabout 1200SS-Steven Mulligan, Glensdale, Ala., Yamaha * Amateur Runabout 1200 Stock-Robert Judge, Lorain, Ohio, Sea-Doo * Amateur Runabout 800 SS -Kevin Nitschke, Eastlake, Ohio, Sea-Doo * Amateur Women Runabout 1200 Limited -Hazel Herm, Texas City, Texas, Sea-Doo * Amateur Veteran Runabout 1200 SS-Dennis Schilly, Sugar Land, Texas, Yamaha

2002 IJSBA Novice National Champions (crowned Wednesday, August 14)

* Novice Runabout 1200 SS-T.J. Sullivan, Cocoa, Fla., Sea-Doo * Novice Runabout 1200 Ltd.-Joe Hill, Aurora, Colo., Yamaha * Novice Women Runabout 1200 Ltd.-Nikki Westerfield, Neenan, Wisc., Sea-Doo * Novice Runabout 1200 Stk.-Craig MacClugage, Naples, Fla., Kawasaki * Novice Runabout 800 SS-Cole Wagner, Waterford, Mich., Sea-Doo * Novice Runabout 800 Ltd.-Eric Swan, Arnold, Mo., Polaris * Novice Runabout 800 Stk.-Eric Swan, Arnold, Arnold, Mo., Polaris * Novice Ski SS-Scott Benson, Hayden Lake, Idaho, Yamaha * Novice Ski Ltd.-Aaron Boatman, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha * Novice Ski Stk.-Justin, Luinstra, Wichita, Texas, Polaris * Novice Women Ski-Ashlee Hyde, Hide-away Hills, Ohio, Yamaha * Novice Veteran Ski-Scott Benson, Hayden Lake, Idaho, Yamaha * Novice Sport SS-Adam Friedlander, Englewood, Ohio, Sea-Doo * Novice Sport Ltd.-Geoff Maddocks, Riverside, Calif., Sea-Doo

For more event information, visit the official website at IJSBA.