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The National Surf League’s High School Cup New
Jersey Regional went off in fun two- to three-foot surf on May 19th at 1st Street
in Ocean City, with one of the most memorable and nail-biting finishes in
recent years. After having to postpone The Game for four straight days, Ocean
City High School won its fourth consecutive National Surf League High School Regional
title. But as opposed to previous years, when Ocean City High was favored
to take the title, this year was a toss-up, with all four teams equally matched
— and it showed in the final results.
In one of the closest finishes in the National
Surf League’s High School Cup history, Ocean City won its semifinal and final
Games by a combined four points, with each of its wins coming down to the wire as
the opposing teams only needed small improvements in their scores to take down
the defending champs.
In the first semifinal, Ocean City defeated
Southern Regional High School, who, despite an 8.7-point tuberide to blowtail
from Conner Willem, could not get high enough supporting scores from teammates
in the final minutes of The Game, losing by just 1.9 points.
The second semifinal saw Middle Township High
take down Manasquan High in a low-scoring affair, with Middle Township
winning by just 0.45 points, one of the slimmest margins of victory ever in NSL
history. This set up a rematch of last year’s final between Middle Township and
defending champions Ocean City.
Middle Township won the coin toss and decided to
surf in the bottom half of each period, sending the Ocean City Red Raiders
into the water first in waist- to chest-high waves. Assistant Coach and Ocean
City High Alumni Rob Kelly had his team fired up, but they were only able to
drop a 12.7 total period score. Middle Township, led by sophomore Mike Ciaramella,
sensed an opportunity to build a lead and opened the bottom of the first with a
series of powerful backhand snaps, scoring a 6.7 and cutting into Ocean City’s
total first period score with just one wave.
However, the other three Middle Township starters
failed to find waves with scoring opportunities, and the Panthers finished the
first period trailing by a half a point. In the top of the second, Ocean City struggled
with positioning until Sean Santiago found a clean right-hander and performed a
series of buttery re-entries, earning his own 6.7 and improving OC’s period
score to 15.5.
Middle Township came back again with Ciaramella
scoring 6.3 and Austin King dropping a solid score, however the team failed to
keep pace with a total period score of 13.3. Ocean City High sent out its
seniors for the top of the third, with Matt Rink and Santiago both dropping solid
scores for the team. In the final minutes, Coach Mark Miedema substituted in Zack Greaser and helped contribute to a period score of 14.3 and
a final Game score of 42.5. The Red Raiders looked confident in their
dugout with a 17-point lead going into the Panthers’ half of the final period.
Middle Township went right to work in their final
at-bat, with Ciaramella once again putting a big score on the board on a
wedging right-hander that saw him execute a lightning-fast power snap straight
into a huge blowtail re-entry on the closeout section. The combination
earned Ciaramella an 8.3 and The Game’s Most Radical Maneuver award. This
left the other three Panther starters needing just a 3.0 each to take the win.
Ocean City High’s dugout was in disbelief that
Middle Township needed such small scores to take the title away. Assistant Coach
Rob Kelly even questioned the calculation of the scores on the computer, before Middle
Township‘s Austin King thickened the plot with a 3.5, meaning the other two
players needed to get a 2.6 each. Middle Township Coach Nicole Rappoli was yelling
into her walkie-talkie to get the two low scorers on the next waves that
popped up.
But Middle Township was not able to close the gap
in the end, and Ocean City High School won their fourth consecutive National
Surf League High School Cup Regional title. An excited and frazzled Rob Kelly
said after the final, “The most talented team doesn't always emerge victorious.
True champions find a way to win, and Ocean City always seems to do that!”
Ocean City High School will now move on the NSL
High School Cup National Championships at Upper Trestles, CA, on June 12th-13th. A special thanks goes out to the City of Ocean City, Ed Morgan at Aloha
Awnings, Keith Wescott, and Tom Sullivan for their help with the NSL High School
Cup New Jersey Regional.
FINAL NSL HIGH SCHOOL
CUP NEW JERSEY REGIONAL BOX SCORE:
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P1 |
P2 |
P3 |
FINAL |
Ocean City High School |
12.7 |
15.5 |
14.3 |
42.5 |
Middle Township High School |
12.2 |
13.3 |
15 |
40.5 |
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Mike Ciaramella, Middle
Township
MOST RADICAL MANEUVER
Mike Ciaramella, Middle
Township, 8.3 |
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