PRIME CANDIDATES East
Coast’s Finest Under-18 Surfers Blitz Sebastian Inlet By Nick McGregor
Surf Fest 2010 got off the ground this weekend at
Sebastian Inlet, FL, with the first ever Surfing America Prime Series event
held in the Sunshine State. The Hurley Surfing America Prime Presented By Got Milk? kicked off on Saturday, March
6th in windblown two- to three-foot peaks, with cool north winds,
shiver-inducing air temps, and unusually cold 58-degree water temps keeping the
Right Coast’s most prestigious amateur surfers clad in fullsuits and even booties. But
the challenging conditions provided just the right template for over 50
gathered amateur competitors, who all have their eyes set on the SIMA Surfing
America U.S.A. Championships in June and the 2010-2011 PacSun U.S.A. Surf Team
announcement shortly thereafter.
In the marquee Boys Under 18 division, the two Evans
(Geiselman and Thompson) demonstrated why they’re consistently placing one and
two in nearly every contest they enter. In Saturday’s challenging windslop,
Evan had the highest heat score of Round 1 with a 12.0 before newly minted Rip
Curl rider Dylan Kowalski, who splits his competitive time between Hawaii and
Wrightsville Beach, NC, unloaded with an event-high 9.33 to decimate fellow
Southern North Carolina grom Knox Harris and celebrated New Smyrna Beach, FL,
up-and-comer Noah Schweizer. But in the semifinals, Thompson, Geiselman, and
Kowalski all stepped up, advancing through their respective heats with the only
double-digit heat scores of the round, before Thompson and Geiselman took
control in the final. Tied midway through the 25-minute heat, Evan G. broke
things open with a 7.33 that Evan T. quickly followed up with a massive 8.5,
but Geiselgrease the Younger clinched the victory with a 7.83 that Thompson was
never able to overcome.
In Girls Under 18, local wahine wonder Jasset Umbel
was the odds-on favorite after winning the division at Surfing America Prime’s
first East Coast stop at Ditch Plains, NY, back in October. But 14-year-old
Indialantic charger Nikki Viesins had other ideas, utilizing her extensive
training with local legend John Holeman to cruise to victory not only in Under
18 but also in Girls Under 16, as well. Viesins saved her best performance for
last, notching two out of the only three Girls’ combined heat scores of 10.0 or
higher in both finals to hold off Quincy Davis, who could only muster a 9.4 to
Viesins’ 12.83 and a 6.36 to Nikki’s 10.5 in Under and Under 16, respectively. PacSun
U.S.A. Surf Team Assistant Coach Sean Mattison praised Nikki’s patient path to victory:
“I look at it like this: kids are either reckless drivers or Indy car drivers,”
Mattison said. “You have to know when to throttle up and down. You have to keep
the tires on, and you have to finish the race. I saw lots of kids burning tires
early on. And heart and passion can overcome a lot — any of us would have
thought those waves this weekend were bad, but Nikki proved she could find a
way to win.”
In the Boys Under 16 division, a host of local Space
Coast rippers looked good early on — Sam Duggan, Giorgio Gomez, Corey
Howell. But in two tight semifinal exchanges, Noah Schweizer and Garden City
Beach, SC’s, Cam Richards squeaked through with minute wins, setting up a heated
final with Howell and Jacksonville Beach, FL, darkhorse Jake McGuire. In the
end, Richards’ explosive backhand was the difference; on one right, he
completed two solid vertical snaps right off the bat, before milking the tricky
reform section all the way to shore to earn a 7.5 and a heat-winning 13.17
total. “In these conditions, the judges were giving pretty high scores for one
solid maneuver,” Mattison said. “Two or three maneuvers and you were getting
excellent scores.”
In Boys Under 14, New Smyrna Beach/ Central North
Carolina half-timer Daniel Glenn eked out a victory in the dying seconds of the
final against Hobe Sound, FL, grom Justin Croteau. Glenn needed a 1.73 in the
last five minutes of the heat to take the lead over Croteau’s combined 9.4, but
couldn’t find a wave with much scoring potential as Croteau shadowed him
throughout the lineup. “You had to make opportunities happen out there,”
Mattison said. “There was no sitting out the back, because you’d never catch a
wave.” Glenn realized that with under a minute to go, scrambled to the inside,
and got a tiny nearshore wave for a 2.07 score at the 20-second mark. But that
was enough to put him over the Boys Under 14 edge, and get his name on the
national competitive map.
And that’s what the Hurley Surfing America Prime Presented By Got Milk? is
all about — four-man, 20-minute heats, ASP judging criteria, top-notch
competition levels. And as part of the all-encompassing Surf Fest 2010, which
features two ASP Pro Junior events, a collegiate championship, and a Masters
Pro contest, Surfing America Prime gave kids just what they needed. “This event
was all about the fundamentals,” Mattison said. “You had to put together a
good, basic plan that didn’t worry necessarily about technique or strategy.
There was a local advantage, but I encouraged the 20 kids who trained with me
on Friday to become comfortable with Sebastian’s kind of short, punchy surf.
The kids who do best are the ones who adapt.”
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE HURLEY SURFING AMERICA PRIME PRESENTED BY GOT MILK?
BOYS UNDER
18 1. Evan Geiselman, 15.16
2. Evan Thompson, 13.83
3. Dylan Kowalski, 8.33
4. Cam Richards, 7.83
THE OLD IN-OUT
The 2009 WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Is Moving Ahead Like Clockwork
Along The Graveyard Of The Atlantic... Let's Hope Hurricane Season Doesn’t Dish
Out A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence
BILL OF SALE Surf Expo Comes To Town Early With Lower-Than-Usual
Attendance Rumors And Category 4 Hurricane Bill Zooming In. Will You Blow Town To
Bro Down Or Sit Tight And Get Right?
