Carson's Mason 'steps up" in X Games 14

Appeal Staff Report

Mike Mason of Carson City was one busy man in X Games 14 in Los Angeles on Friday, competing in three Moto X events.

Mason qualified for today's finals in Moto X Freestyle, had a solid showing in the Moto X Speed and Style preliminaries and for good measure competed in Moto X Step Up.

Mason grabbed the fifth and last spot into today's finals in the Moto X Freestyle preliminaries. In Freestyle, riders do tricks over a motocross-style course.

Andre Villa took first in the preliminaries with 88.80 points and was followed by Matt Rebaud (88.20), Blake Williams (87.40), Robbie Maddison (86.60) and Mason (86) in fifth. Those five will join Nate Adams, Jeremy Lusk and Jeremy Stenberg, who already automatically qualified for the finals. The freestyle finals will be televised at 6 p.m. today on ESPN.

In Speed and Style, an event that combines racing with doing tricks over a freestyle course, Mason looks to be in strong medal contention after finishing fourth in the preliminaries. Jeremy Stenberg was third.

Mason had a better speed score than Stenberg (107.16-108.29), but Stenberg had a higher style score (86.60-84). They finished right behind Matt Rebaud, who took second (107.73, 85.20). Travis Pastrana took first (99.57 and 87.40).

Gardnerville's Dustin Miller also competed in Speed and Style. The Speed and Style finals will be televised at noon today on ABC.

In step up, Mason was eliminated at 32 feet and fell short of a medal. Ricky Carmichael won the event at 33 feet.