N.C. State’s club wake-board team competed Saturday in the Collegiate Cable Tour.  Many contestants who competed for the University won in their respective sections.

The competition took place from 9 a.m. to noon and featured 30 competitors from Charleston College, The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Duke University and N.C. State. Nearly 100 observers showed up to watch the event, which was sponsored by Empire Wake Company and hosted by Hexagon Wake Park, located about 45 minutes from Raleigh.

Participants had the choice of competing in five different categories, beginner, intermediate, advanced, women’s, and wake-skating, which is similar to skate-boarding and different from wake-boarding in that your feet are not attached to the board, and there is grip tape.

Of the N.C. State’s 13 competitors, four placed in the competitions five categories. The club’s winners included Matt Marshall, a freshman in agribusiness management who won third place in the beginners section; Dylan Kramer, sophomore in First Year College, who won first place in the beginners section; Emylee Wright, a sophomore in nutrition science, who won second in the woman’s section as well as the best trick award for that section; and Cameron Brown, a graduate student in nuclear engineering, who won third place in the advanced section.

Going into the competition, several members said that they felt they had the ability to win.

“We knew what the competition was going to be, so we were confident but not cocky,” said David “Chason” Johnson, a junior in agricultural business management, and president of the wake club.

Kramer, who won first place in the beginners section said, “after I warmed up a little bit, I felt very confident about my run. I was riding well and thought I had a good shot at winning my division.”

Most of the contestants said although it was colder than expected, with a low of 41 degrees Fahrenheit, they still had a good deal of fun competing and representing the university.

“It was a little cold to compete, but once everyone started it was not too bad,” Kramer said. “It was my first wake-board competition so it was great to go out and compete, winning was just the icing on the cake.”

Though many of the club’s competitors claimed they felt prepared for the competition, some said they were still surprised with how well they placed.

“It was my first cable competition I have ever done, so I was excited and shocked that I got second place,” Wright said.

The wake-board club is not only for the advanced and definitely not only for men.  Wright, who is a pro wake-boarder, said she encourages anyone interested in wake-boarding join the club.

“Don’t be afraid to come check us out,” Wright said. “We are very open to new members and are interested in teaching beginners and building a community.”

The wake club is open to new members year round, and it meets Wednesday at 8 p.m. in room 2037 of the Carmichael Complex.