The third installment in the National SpeedSkating Circuit’s initial season, Tribulation, lived up and surpassed all the hype. When the crowd started funneling into the building in bunches it became evident that we would be dealing with our largest crowd yet. As the fans packed into the building the stars of Tribulation 3 laced up their skates.

The first event, the 100m time trial, crowns the fastest athlete on skates. Each athlete is given 200m to get up to top speed and then they have one lap (100m) to go as fast as they can. The event started out with each skater setting the bar higher and higher by edging out the time set by the racer prior to them... That is until the sixth skater, Jeremy “The Hammering Husky” Anderson, threw down a time of 8.74 seconds; it was two tenths of a second faster than the previous fastest time. The two skaters following Anderson had no answer for Anderson's blazing fast time. There was 1 person, however, that did have an answer for the Hammering Husky; The third to last skater in the event, Joey SuperMantia. SuperMantia was the 100m winner of Tribulation 1 so the fans in attendance knew what he could bring. When it was all said and done SuperMantia crossed the line in a blazing fashion with a time of 8.68 seconds which translates to 27 mph. Rounding out the top three was the Hammering Husky and Justin “The Rajin Cajun” Stelly with a time on 8.76 seconds.

The 500m sprint event was the first pack style race of the night. Quick off of the lane and setting a fast pace was the reigning 500m NSC Champion, William “Wild Thing” Bowen. Following The Wild Thing was Chad “The Unibomber” Horne who got his nickname at the NSC showcase event, Initiation, when he took out the entire field on the very first pass sending one athlete to the hospital and injury two others. The crowd waited in anticipation to see if the Unibomber would strike again but the Wild Thing proved to be too much for him going the distance to earn his second straight 500m title. Finishing out the top three was Keith “The IQ” Carroll who just edged out Steve “S Dot” Carter in the final 20m of the race.

The Endurance athletes were well warmed up at this time and itching for their chance to showcase their talent for the packed crowd, the 1600m distance would be their first chance. When the starting gun fired it was SuperMantia out front with the early lead and fresh off of his 100m victory. The first part of this event’s 1600m proved to have some strategic value as the pace wasn’t quite as fast as past events. Each of the six athletes vying for that number one spot was well aware that they would need their top speed for the end of this race. Early in the race it was Michael “Cheex” Cheek and SuperMantia trading leads until Cheex took the initiative by picking up the pace with less than six laps to go. It would be SuperMantia throwing the pass on Cheex to secure his second victory of NSC 3. Cheex finished second followed by The Rajin Cajun Stelly in third.

The intermission saw former inline speed skater and current Olympic bronze medalist J.R. Celski return to the rink that it all started. After a brief interview the crowd was given a chance to step into the action with crowd races of different ages. After a few exciting races from volunteers of the crowd it was back to the professionals to witness some more stellar performances.

Next up was the always on edge 300m distance that would crown its third different winner in the three installments of the NSC Tribulation series. As the athletes got set on the starting line the crowd witnesses a potentially costly move by both the Wild Thing and S Dot: a false start. If an athlete moves before the starting gun is fired they are flagged with a false start and the athletes are then forced to start four feet behind the other athletes. Once the athletes were reset and the gun was fired it was The IQ and Eben “Action” Jackson getting tangled up in the first turn allowing the Wild Thing and S Dot to take the 1-2 lead. A few spots back it was The IQ and the Unibomber showing the crowd that rubbing is a part of racing as they got tied up on two different occasions allowing the other competitors to break away. Crossing the line first was again the Wild Thing claiming his first 300m NSC title and also becoming the first sprint athlete to claim both distances in the same event. Following behind was S Dot and third was Action Jackson.'

After the 300m distance spots in the Grand Champions race started filling up quickly as the Wild Thing, S Dot, and the Unibomber all earned berths with their performance in the two sprint events. SuperMantia also had earned a berth in the Champions race because of his victory in the 1600m race. All race winners are automatic Grand Champion qualifiers. And Cheex earned himself an automatic bid to the race because he was the defending Grand Champion from Tribulation 2.

Every spot in the Champions race was not filled however, and the 1000m endurance race was just about ready to see who else could earn a chance to compete as the Grand Champion. Once again early in the race it was SuperMantia trying to prove his dominance with a third race victory in as many tries at Tribulation 3. But the Rajin Cajun Stelly took the early lead away from him in an effort to claim his first victory of the official season. Cheex then fought his way to the front of the race but not for long before SuperMantia took the race into his own hands with 500m remaining. With another 300m remaining it seemed the top three in this race was already decided barring injury as Mantia was leading with Cheex hot on his heels while the Rajin Cajun was following closely behind in third, managed to break away from the other athletes. Setting up for the final turn before the finish line it was Cheex throwing a last second pass of SuperMantia to claim victory in his second straight 1000m at NSC. Mantia followed in second and the Rajin Cajun Stelly was third. Stelly with two third place finishes in the 1600m and 1000m earned himself the final spot in the Grand Champions race.

Heading into the 800m Champions race it was evident that the crowd was in for a treat as the top three overall all qualified for the event while The Wild Thing and the Rajin Cajun both looked to earn their first points towards the overall Grand Champion title. From the start of the race the competitors were all bunched up vying for positioning. With 600m remaining in the race the crowd saw Cheex in the top spot followed by the Unibomber in second and SuperMantia in third. Two laps later the Unibomber saw his chance and raced by Cheex to take a lead on the pack that looked insurmountable. As the race continued to near it’s end the crowd started to see Cheex closing the gap on the Unibomber while the Wild Thing made his move into the third spot with SuperMantia following closely behind in fourth place. The finish line came barely soon enough for the Unibomber who managed to hold Cheex’s late charge off while the Wild Thing claimed third place and his first 15 points towards the overall Grand Champion title. Chad “The Unibomber” Horne became the first athlete to win more than one Grand Champions race this season and extended his overall lead toward the title. He will have an automatic bid into the next events Grand Champions race with his title of NSC Tribulation 3’s Grand Champion: the most prestigious title in inline speed skating.

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