posted Oct 23rd, 2006 - The NSL News has written a lot about Shannon Pilcher and his 4-way career, plus his engagement with the PD Factory Team in the past years. A new marketing strategy at Performance Designs has brought a lot of attention to the amazing adventures and the athletic success of the PD Factory Team members. Once again, his team is currently making the headlines, this time at the USPA Nationals 2006 in Eloy, Arizona. DeLand Groove is on top of the AAA/Open Class leaderboard after seven rounds.

Shannon Pilcher made the effort to provide a summary of the first day, which is brought to the audience by his supporters at Performance Designs. He mentioned that the seven rounds were hard work, and he was tired and ready for bed when he put his thoughts and impressions together.

4-way Open Class - by Shannon Pilcher

Wow! I don’t know where to start. If I had any expectations at all, it wasn’t to be leading this meet after seven rounds. But we’re having a great time and are thrilled to have executed so well up to this point. Aside from a couple of arguable busts, and a few very small hiccups, we’ve had a nearly perfect meet. Perfect meaning we’ve landed on every jump feeling like we’ve laid all of our cards on the table.

What did I expect from everyone else? Hmmm. Well, first, I had no idea that the Black Cats would be here. So that in itself is nice. Admittedly, I consider them to be one of the fastest teams in the world, so when I heard they were here, I immediately expected to see them and Airspeed Odyssey battling it out for the top spot. But the Cats are having a roller coaster performance. Some rounds they seem unbeatable (3 and 4), and some rounds, they just never seem to find their rhythm (1 and 6). Still, the rounds 9 and 10 are fast ones, and anything could happen. These guys are fighters. They may be guests at this meet, but they’re out to show the world what they can do. Tomorrow should be exciting.

I expected Fastrax to be strong, but not nearly as consistent as they’ve been. They’re flying confidently, as if they expect to win each round. Their round three was especially impressive. Doug Park told Solly today that it was perhaps one of the best rounds they've had so far as a team. This is undoubtedly the best Fastrax team to date. John Hart says they will make 1000 jumps next year. If they do, they will be hard to beat.

I expected a lot more from Airspeed Odyssey, but hey, as Craig Girard aptly said, every performance can’t be your best. We’re on the plane with Odyssey, and despite their struggles, they are keeping their heads held high and spreading the good vibes as usual. Their last three rounds have looked more confident and energetic, so I fully expect to see them back in the hunt tomorrow.

Golden Knights Black is back, and with only 40 training jumps together, I think they’re faster than most people expected. Up and down on the consistency, of course, but proving they'll be heavy hitters next year. I don’t know the team's future plans, but Kurt Isenbarger is back for at least another year, and I believe Eric Heinsheimer is too.

I had no clue what Airspeed Velocity could do, but I know they trained very little, and so, like most untrained squads, they're struggling with consistency. Still, they're fun to watch. Very fast and very aggressive, like they've got nothing to lose. You can bet they'll be letting it all hang out tomorrow.

The big surprise in my book is Perris Fury. I expected them to finish off with an 18 to 19 average. They're currently tied for fourth with Odyssey at an 18.4 average, and with two fast sequences remaining, they will likely pass the 20 mark.

Unfortunately, the pace here has been so fast, I haven't seen much more than this. I will study the scores tonight myself, trying to catch up on all the cool battles within each category. I guess that's the only downside to such an efficiently run meet; there's not much time to enjoy the show.