Kansas Rocks Recreation Park hosts 'Fall Crawl'

Katie Hueston/Tribune Photo A participant struggles to steer his off-road vehicle up a steep hill in the first course at the Fall Crawl competition at Kansas Rocks Recreation Park.

A first ever "Fall Crawl" Rock Crawling Competition was held at Kansas Rocks Recreation Park near Mapleton Sunday. Participants from all over the four-state area, including those from the Brush Beater Jeep Club, Kansas City Four-wheel Drive Association (KC4WDA), Kansas City Jeep Club, and KAMO Jeep Club along with several others, attended the event. In charge of the event was Jake Good, National RROCK rock crawling competitor, who took first place in the RROCK series and second in the national series this year. Judges for the event were Don VanBuskirk, President of Brush Beater Jeep Club, Scott Angel, JR Ramey, Chris Canary and Brad Jones.

The purpose of the first "Fall Crawl" Competition was to help train participants who normally use their vehicles for trail riding on how to compete in a rock crawling competition.

The event consisted of four stages, basically two courses that competitors had to maneuver through one way, then turn around and do the course a second time, this time backwards. Participants used spotters to help them work their way through the course and around cones that marked boundaries. Participants had a ten-minute time limit and had points deducted for using reverse and backing up, which was a one-point deduction, and for hitting cones, which was a ten-point deduction for each cone. Participants were also grouped into two classes: A street stock class for vehicles that are licensed and used on the road, with 35-inch size tires or less, and an unlimited class for all vehicles that had tires larger than 35 inches in size or vehicles that had modifications beyond what is legal for street use.

Katie Hueston/Tribune Photo During the Fall Crawl Rock Crawling Competition held last Sunday at the Kansas Rocks Recreation Park near Mapleton, competitors were challenged by two courses of rock and rough terrain which they had to maneuver twice, once going forward and once in reverse.

Results of the contest were for the street stock class: Mike Moran, first place, scoring 14 points; Kurt Herrelson, second place, scoring 29 points; James Martley, third place, scoring 35 points; Jay Miller, fourth place, scoring 38 points; Brad Schrader, fifth place, scoring 128 points; Jess Peppers, sixth place, 130 points; Henry Yount, seventh place, 154 points.

Results for the unlimited class were: Mike Burns, first place, 14 points; Ben Patterson, second place, 22 points; Keith Rice, third place, 43 points; Jim Banner, fourth place, 51 points; and Jason Shryrock, fifth place, 62 points.

Katie Hueston/ Tribune photo A participant in the Fall Crawl event at the Kansas Rocks Recreation Park maneuvers through the second course as an event judge looks on.