First-Time Winners Continue to Make Their Mark
Authored by Larry Jewett on March 6, 2023
New names celebrated first-time wins as March action picked up where February left off.
Stadium Series Blue – In Arlington, TX, points leader Tyler Menninga (Grave Digger) extended his points lead with his 10th event championship of the year, bolstered by his second consecutive Skills title. Chris Koehler (Monster Mutt) recorded his first career Racing win, knocking off Menninga in the Semi-Finals and defeating teammate Cory Rummell (Megalodon) for the first-time win. Bari Musawwir (Zombie) overcame mechanical issues to win Freestyle. The points race goes on hold for a few weeks, with some of the competitors making a stop in Nampa, Idaho, March 10–12.
Stadium Series Red – Camden Murphy (Bakugan Dragonoid) opened the night at Camping World Stadium in Orlando with a Racing win for his fourth title in five final Racing round appearances. Murphy nearly backed it up with the Skills competition win, falling just .001 points below Bryce Kenny (Great Clips Mohawk Warrior) in the Judges Zone results. Points leader Adam Anderson (Grave Digger) recorded his sixth Freestyle win of 2023, while Murphy captured the overall event championship. The series heads to Detroit for a pair of events March 11–12.
Arena Series East – It was a busy five-event weekend in Rosemont, IL. Weston Anderson (Grave Digger) captured four overall event championships with an equal number of victories in Skills and Freestyle. Armando Castro (El Toro Loco) was a four-time Racing winner and scored his fourth overall event championship of the season. The Donut competitions were dominated by Team Throttle Monster, as Hunter Souza (Earth Shaker) won three and Dalton Widner (Jurassic Attack) claimed a pair. The series rolls back east for a stop in New York’s capital city of Albany March 11–12.
Arena Series Central – Six competitors stopped in Tupelo, Mississippi for a weekend of non-points action. Brandon Vinson (Grave Digger) claimed two overall event championships and multiple wins in Freestyle, Donuts and Racing, while Jon Zimmer Jr. (Terminal Velocity) captured an overall event championship as well. Mikayla Tulachka (Megalodon) scored a Donut win for the second time this season. The points race resumes this weekend in Hidalgo, Texas with five events March 10–12.
Arena Series West – In Portland, three competitors took the four overall event championships, as points leader Tristan England (Earth Shaker) claimed two, while Elvis Lainez (El Toro Loco) opened the weekend with an overall event win and Krysten Anderson (Grave Digger) closed the weekend action with the overall event championship. Anderson was a three-time Freestyle winner, while England and Lainez each picked up a pair of Skills challenges. England added two Racing titles to run his total to 10 for the year. It’s back to California March 10–12 for a weekend of competition in Fresno.