If a skateboarder is going to travel all the way from Florida to jump in a west coast pro-am event, he might as well win it and justify the time and expense. So that’s exactly what Dalton Dern did Saturday, taking the top podium spot and $3,000 at Tactics Boardshop’s inaugural Northwest Jam in Eugene, OR.
Dern, riding for Lifeblood Skateboards, led a field of 58 skaters who competed in the first regional skate comp to be held at Eugene’s newly opened WJ Skatepark. He threw down trick after trick with his signature smooth style to lead all skaters after completing qualifying runs in WJ’s street and bowls sections, then dominated the group of 12 finalists.
Zion O’Friel took home $1,000 by finishing second. Anakin Senn took third, Jake Selover fourth, and Nick Peterson rounded out the podium at fifth. Remaining finalists were Brendan Garcia, Danny Tumia, Sean Donnelly, Kyle Ward, Tyler Martin, Trever Bates, and Jason Singler.