Evan
Geiselman Lays Waste To LandShark Pro And DNA Energy Drink Junior Pro
Competition By Nick McGregor
TURF: 2010 LandShark Pro and DNA Energy Drink Junior Pro;
New Smyrna Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, FL; April 14th-18th, 2010
ENERGY: Much like 2009’s inaugural LandShark Pro, this year’s
five-day waiting period experienced nearly every side of the Sunshine State
surfing coin, from raging onshores and overhead slop on Wednesday and Thursday,
to more manageable yet still challenging head-high windswell on Friday, to
semi-glassy A-frame peaks on Saturday, to inconsistent mushburgers on Sunday. And
spring’s notoriously volatile weather stayed away throughout the week, at least
until Sunday afternoon, when rainstorms finally arrived.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: For a second-year
event, plenty of firsts still marked the 2010 LandShark Pro landscape: DNA
Energy Drink stepped up to sponsor a $2000 32-man Junior Pro; the Western
Atlantic Pro Surf Series added the LandShark as a first stop on its 2010 East
Coast tour; and tons of new talent stirred the Sunshine State pot, with a solid
Caribbean contingent, a stacked field of Mid-Atlantic stars, and even
Californian hotshot Brent Reilly turning the LandShark into a truly
mind-blowing display of 21st century talent.
SLIDE: With 96 of the best shredders this side of the
Mississippi vying for $20,000 in total prize money, heat sheets at the
LandShark Pro started looking like stacked ASP events from the Round of 64 on,
with former World Tour surfers Bryan Hewitson, Gabe Kling, and Dean Randazzo
battling East Coast mainstays Matt Kechele and Asher Nolan, flashy young
progressives Oliver Kurtz, Tayler Brothers, and Michael Dunphy, and New Smyrna
Inlet regulators Jeremy and Caleb Johnston, Nils and Noah Schweizer, Shannon
Eichstaedt, Devon Tresher, Evan Geiselman, and last year’s LandShark champion,
Aaron Cormican.
Early-round highlights came in a
stratospheric Round of 32 heat featuring Cormican, Geiselman, Kurtz, and
Brothers, and in a prelude of things to come, Gorkin nailed two huge frontside
air-reverses to notch a 14.64, but Geiselman ended up winning the exchange with
the highest heat total (18.43) and two highest-scoring waves (9.43 and 9.00) of
the event. In Quarterfinal #2, Geiselman ripped through lightning-fast
direction changes, ridiculously perfect tail blows, and his trademark buttery
frontside air-reverses to notch a 16.77, nearly doubling Nick Rupp, Travis
Beckmann, and Brent Reilly’s individual totals in the process. “The new ASP
judging criteria says the first move is the most difficult, so every time I
took off on a wave, it was always in the back of my head to do the biggest
maneuver I could right off the bat,” Evan said. “I just want to go out and
impress people with the way I surf.”
The next two Quarterfinals were anti-climactic after
Evan’s high-flying performance, but Gabe Kling and Michael Dunphy proved that
carving cutbacks and workmanlike vertical bashes can still rack up points, as
the unlikely pair advanced with a 15.87 and 12.20, respectively. And
Quarterfinal #4 saw Jeremy Johnston attack each wave with gusto, earning a
14.00. But all eyes were already trained on Semifinal #1, when Geiselman and
Cormican again went toe to toe with Heilman and Rupp. A minor controversy
flared up when Heilman stuck a huge air-reverse in the flats that was only scored
a 6.67, but his lack of a back-up score really held him down. And in Semifinal #2, Evan Thompson was on fire,
exploding out of every turn with shocking speed while Dunphy again relied on
his impeccable style to earn several mid-range scores. But after waiting out
the first half of the heat, Kling paddle-battled Jeremy Johnston to log a 6.83
for several rock-solid turns on his first wave. With only a few three-foot
sets coming through every 15 minutes or so, Johnston and Dunphy simply couldn’t
find the proper waves to overcome Gabe and Evan’s combined North Florida
attack.
After that, the DNA Energy Drink Junior Pro final got
underway, with main event semifinalists Rupp and Dunphy joining Geiselman and
Gulf Coast prodigy Tayler Brothers for an electric display of under-20 surfing.
Evan couldn’t find a wave at first, but then went nuts, swooping through a series
of beautiful frontside roundhouses to quickly tally a 7.83 and 7.50. Dunphy did
match Geiselman’s 7.50 with two massive backside rips — fellow Virginia
Beach native Jeff Myers said, “Dunphy’s always surfed good, but I’ve never seen
him surf that good in my life”
— but it wasn’t enough, as Evan’s stunning roll continued with his eighth
consecutive heat win of the event. And even as mom Gina and several friends
rushed to the water’s edge to applaud him on his $1000 win, Evan turned down
the congratulations: “Nope — if I win the Pro, then you can carry me up
the beach.”
Unofficial “mayor of Jacksonville” Jay Dodson was
brimming with stoke over St. Auggie’s Kling and Jax Beach’s Evan Thompson
making the final alongside Cormican and Geiselman, but as the quartet paddled
out, the ocean went flat and contest MC Travis Ajay announced the heat’s
15-wave limit with the comment, “I don’t see anybody getting 15 waves out there
today.” But Cormican opened the exchange with a quick frontside tail waft for a
4.67, before Geiselman’s first wave saw him carve, bash, and smack the coveted
reform section for a 6.67. In an uncharacteristic turn of affairs, Kling went
right on Evan’s next left, drawing an interference that effectively put him out
of the running, but Cormican kept working, vaulting back into the lead with a
6.77 for several solid hits all the way to the inside closeout. Upon kicking
out, though, Gorkin looked on in wonder as Evan boosted the biggest frontside
air-reverse of the contest, covering several feet of ground and tweaking his tail to earn an 8.0.
With five minutes left in the final, a quick flurry
of waves rolled through, but Gorkin opted to wait for another set that never
arrived, making Evan’s impressive run seem all the more providential. With one
minute remaining, Gorkin threw his hands in the air, and the writing was on the
wall: New Smyrna’s freshest young gun had pulled off the double whammy, winning
$7500 in one afternoon — $6000 from the LandShark Pro, $500 from the
Western Atlantic Surf Series, and $1000 from the DNA Energy Drink Junior Pro.
“It feels unbelievable — this has been the best year of my life,” Evan beamed
after the awards ceremony. “To come here and win in my backyard… there’s not a
better feeling.”
THE PAIN: After the final, Cormican paddled far to the north
and had his dad turn in his jersey, avoiding Evan’s winning hoopla on the
beach. Emerging 30 minutes later with headphones glued to his head and a
1000-yard glare warding off all interviewers, Gorkin did open up after a beer
or two. “There weren’t many waves coming through at the peak of high tide,” he
said. “But I’m stoked for Evan — I’m more let down than anything by the
fact that I didn’t get a chance to really compete.” Another hour and a few more
drinks later, and Gorkin was happily spraying Evan with every alcoholic
beverage at hand, congratulating the new king of New Smyrna Beach and partying
with the boys like the excruciating defeat had never happened.
THE MAN: Stretching back to March, when he won the Under-18
division of the Hurley Surfing America Prime Series and earned his maiden ASP
victory at the Grade-3M Sebastian Inlet Pro Junior, Evan
Geiselman has been on such a roll that he’s beginning to earn frightening
comparisons to a certain nine-time world champion from the East Coast. $11,000
in prizemoney in less than two months, nine heats won consecutively in
LandShark and DNA Energy Drink competition, #10 on Surfer Magazine’s annual Hot 100 list… what’s left for a
16-year-old to accomplish? “I’m trying to surf the way the ASP judges want to
see people surf in all of my heats,” Evan said. “If you get more comfortable
surfing like that in your heat, you’re gonna get where you want to be —
and I want to be on the World Tour one day, so I might as well start surfing
that way now.”
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “This is the
best win of my life by far, but don’t let it fool you — Aaron Cormican
still runs the Inlet. He made me surf the best I could in that final.” –2010
LandShark Pro and DNA Energy Drink Junior Pro champion Evan Geiselman, mindful
of the groundwork laid by his New Smyrna Beach elders
“It’s not hard to bust those air reverses when you
only weigh 110 pounds.” –2nd-place finisher Aaron Cormican, when
asked about Geiselman repeatedly setting the LandShark judging bar high
“This could easily turn into a huge beach festival,
but I just want to make sure that the Inlet continues to produce waves and the
surfers remain happy.” –Event Coordinator Karen Clancy, enjoying the
LandShark’s blossoming success while also keeping her priorities straight
“The only thing that sucks about Evan winning is he
can’t go out and buy us all drinks.” –Contest MC and legendary funnyman
Travis Ajay, stoked for Geiselman, if only a bit
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE 2010 LANDSHARK PRO
1. Evan Geiselman, $6000 plus $500 from the Western
Atlantic Surf Series
2. Aaron Cormican, $3000
3. Evan Thompson, $2000
4. Gabe Kling, $1000
5. Jesse Heilman, Jeremy Johnston, $750
7. Nick Rupp, Michael Dunphy, $550
9. CT Taylor, Travis Beckmann, Bryan Hewitson, Matt
Keenan, $400
13. Nils Schweizer, Brent Reilly, Mark Dawson, Ryan
Briggs, $300
17. Devon Tresher, Marshall Alberga, Tayler Brothers,
Tommy O’Brien, Cody Thompson, Caleb Johnston, Rob Kelly, Tyler Crawford, $200
25. Chris Dennis, Hunter Heverly, Oliver Kurtz,
Philip Goold, Jody Davis, Kyle Garson, Scott Posner, Jensen Callaway, $125
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE DNA ENERGY DRINK JUNIOR PRO
1. Evan Geiselman, $1000
2. Michael Dunphy, $500
3. Nick Rupp, $300
4. Tayler Brothers, $200
South Carolina’s Cam Richards Steals 12th Annual
Tommy Tant Memorial Classic Men’s Pro Title From Florida Vets; Cody Thompson, Amy Nicholl,
Noah Schweizer, And Dan Worley Also Win Big
VQS
HITS THE JACKPOT AT CASINO PIER Jellyfish Surf Series Winners Include Local Boys
Hammer, Schmidt, Vanaman, And Siganos, Along With Florida Girl Emily Ruppert
DUBIOUS RECORD The WRV
Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Offers Locals Genuine Perspective & More
Money Per Square Foot Of Wave Than Any Surf Contest In History
Sweetwater Leaves It Up To The Grom At Oakley Surf Shop Challenge Mid-Atlantic Regional Qualifier; “Uncle” Andrew Gesler Drives Heritage Win Home In Northeast
By Matt Pruett and Nick McGregor;
Photos by Matt Lusk
