Buyten wins Step Up gold

Even though it was a controversial finish, Minden's Matt Buyten again showed his the king of the Moto X world when it comes to Step Up.

Buyten, who has also lived in Carson City, came away with another gold in the event on Sunday at the Moto X World Championships held at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Buyten added that gold to the several medals he's won, including two gold medals in Step Up at the X Games.

Buyten won thanks to a sudden death finish after he won a coin toss, leaving the rider he beat, Ronnie Renner furious. Both Buyten and Renner had three failed attempts to clear 35 feet.

The rule calls for a sudden death overtime then to be held, but it was also decided to make the take-off five feet longer. Buyten won the coin toss and in his first attempt, he cleared 35 feet and was declared the winner.

"This feels better than any other win in my career," Buyten said. "I'm bummed for Renner, but that's just how the cookie crumbles."

But Renner was furious when he wasn't given a chance after Buyten cleared 35 feet in the sudden death finish.

"I lost on a coin toss as far as I'm concerned," Renner said. "I'm not even giving Matt Buyten props because I didn't even get a fair shake."

After the finish, Renner flipped off the officials and wiped his buttocks on the event banner.

"They didn't care about running the event in a fair manner," he said. "They were just trying to get it over with so that they could stay on schedule."

Two other local athletes competed in Moto X Freestlye on Sunday, Minden's Adam Jones and Carson City's Mike Mason. Jones just missed qualifying for the semifinals, finishing fifth with 87.20 points.

Matt Renaud advanced to the semifinals by finishing fourth with 87.60. Mason was seventh with 84.20.

Also competing this weekend was Sparks' Drake McElroy, who's originally from Fernley.