BMXer makes state-ment on way to California

The Champion High graduate traveled by car to the next site of competition during a summer of action sports engagements.

By JOHN BASSETTI

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

Craig Mast was traveling across country, but didn’t know exactly where he was when the question was posed.

“Somewhere in Indiana, maybe Ohio,” he said, when asked to give his location while talking on his cellphone from behind the wheel (of his car).

The 18-year-old BMX performer will have a better idea of his position and orientation when he participates in two upcoming events in California — his destination this week.

First for the recent Champion High graduate is the Nike HB BMX Pro in Huntington Beach, Wednesday through Sunday.

Then comes ASA Entertainment’s Big Air BMX Triples at the Orange County Super Fair on July 29-31.

Mast will be one of 20 BMX Park riders at the inaugural event in Huntington Beach, which is part of the U.S. Open of surfing festivities.

“It’s a huge event and a lot of other things are going on within it,” Mast said.

Mast was invited based on his top 10 finish in BMX Park standings at the conclusion of the ASA Dew Tour’s 2008 season.

Mast finished sixth last year.

Five of the other 10 riders in the Big Air Triples were chosen by 2008 Dew riders such as Mast. The remaining five were picked based on voting through vitalbmx.com.

At stake during the four-day Huntington event is a $30,000 purse.

One of those entered in the Huntington field is Daniel Dhers, but Mast said anyone out there is good enough to win.

“It’s everybody’s game,” said Mast.

At the Big Air BMX Triples in Orange County, Mast will be one of 36 of the world’s top freestyle BMXers testing their skills over a 170-foot, three-obstacle course consisting of two big jumps and a quarter pipe.

“They look like two ski-jump ramps — pretty big jumps,” Mast said.

It won’t be foreign to Mast, who finished fourth at the Big Air BMX Triples in Cincinnati in 2008.

The list of riders headed to Orange County has a definite continent-wide and international flavor. Some of the BMXers are Diogo Canina Amparo (Brazil), Dave Dillewaard (Australia), Dennis Enarson (San Diego), Chris Hughes (Toronto), Josh Hult (Idaho Falls), Koji Kraft Addison (Illinois) and Marcus Tooker (Cape Cod).

Mast’s cross-country trip started on Long Island, N.Y., where his girlfriend’s family lives.

“I’d never done it, so I figured it would be fun to do the East Coast-to-West Coast thing,” he said.

Mast and his girlfriend were hauling his equipment: his bike on a rack and the other necessities, such as helmet and knee pads.

“That’s all I need,” said Mast, who does his own bike maintenance — swapping out everything on the bike about once a month.

“I like to know what’s going on down there,” Mast said of the care of his equipment. “I can’t trust my life to something I don’t know for sure will hold up. I’ve become one with my bike.”

The Dew Tour’s next stop is in Boston, but it’s for skateboarding only, not bikes.

During the Dew Tour’s first stop in Chicago in June, Mast finished seventh in BMX Park, while Austintown native Anthony Napolitan was 13th in BMX Dirt prelims. Napolitan currently stands 16th.

Mast was recently informed that he won $5,000 for best trick in Chicago.

The competition — the “Playstation Pro Moment” — was followed by voting via Web site on the three craziest tricks.

“I topped the voting for doing a bunny hop front-flip off of a pretty big wall and ended up winning,” Mast said of the maneuver that is officially described as a “front-flip down the step down.”

“I’m pretty psyched about it. No one had ever done it before on the Dew Tour,” he said.

Besides the money, Mast also won a Playstation 3 and a library of video games.

Hult and Steve McCann were other $5,000 winners.

After a Dew Tour stop in Portland, Ore., Mast said he’ll start filming for Fuel TV, an extreme sports cable station.

A biography of Mast’s riding will likely include stages of his Champion days. A segment will focus on a ramp he built at home, one that will be dismantled and moved to his own home in Greenville, N.C.

“All in all, things are working out,” Mast said nonchalantly.

His front-flip may be viewed at www.allisports.com/tours/dew-tour and by clicking on the Playstation Moment panel.

bassetti@vindy.com