Evan Geiselman Caps Off Whirlwind Summer With Rip Curl GromSearch Win At Home By Ryan Marks; Photos by Tom Dugan
TURF: Rip
Curl GromSearch Fueled By H2O Overdrive Stop #4; New Smyrna Inlet, New Smyrna
Beach, FL; August 21st, 2010.
ENERGY: With
25+ cars carrying the assembled groms and families from North Carolina, Virginia,
California, Barbados, Hawaii, and all over Florida, each surfer waiting for the
Volusia County Beach Patrol to open the gates for the one and a half-mile drive
north to New Smyrna Inlet had nothing but energy on his or her mind. Rounding
the “hip,” a glassy, two- to three-foot groundswell groomed by slight offshore
winds greeted the groms.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: When you walk into a dark gym and hear the
rat-tat-tats of the speed bag and the thumping of the heavy bag, you know that
hard work is ahead. Barbados’ Dane Mackie, who surfed seven heats (three in Round
One, two in the semifinals, and two in the finals), and Virginia’s Billy
McGarry stepped up to compete. Dane won four of his heats and Billy continued
to impress, coming off his Runtz win last month at the Heritage Gromtest in
Ocean City, NJ. But as usual, the experienced local boys and girls showed why
taking the prize against the hometown groms can be so difficult.
SLIDE: Fins-free
hacks. Air-reverses. Smooth rail carves. Backside vertical snaps. This contest
had it all. With the waves remaining consistent all day and five-wave sets
coming through, all the heats were action-packed. 7-point rides became the
minimum to advance, with Quincy Davis posting a combined 18.5 to take the
highest girls heat score and a $50 check from Dragon. Noah Schweizer posted the
highest heat score of the entire event, 19.75, to also earn a $50 check from
Dragon, while Evan Geiselman’s Philly Pop (no Passion Pops allowed on the East
Coast) in the Boys 16/Under Semifinal landed him $100 for the H2O Overdrive Move
of the Contest.
The Boys 12/Under final kicked
off the champ-deciding heats at 3:35 p.m., right as the afternoon’s converging
winds made weather as uncontrollable as kids after Halloween candy trips. Ponce
Inlet, FL’s, Cobie Gittner started the heat with a few turns and maintained the
lead for most of the exchange. Melbourne Beach’s Luke Marks, Crystal Coast,
NC’s, Stevie Pittman and Mackie caught the best of a set with five minutes
remaining, putting the Boys 12/Under final back into a close battle. But with
two minutes left, a lull set in, and Gittner punched his ticket to the Rip Curl
GromSearch National Championship in Puerto Rico.
The Boys 14/Under Final
witnessed Vero Beach, FL’s, Logan Hayes, Mackie, Melbourne, FL’s, Corey Howell,
and Noah Schweizer come out firing. Mackie was surfing his last and seventh
heat of the day, and with the conditions deteriorating it was tough going for
the Barbados Mac attack. Howell demonstrated his usual perfect command of
backside hacks, and even picked up a few waves in the dying minutes, but just
couldn’t get the high score he needed. With New Smyrna loc’dog Noah Schweizer
casually bottom turning into frontside tailslides and calmly decimating
backside vert reentries at his disposal, it was home cooking at its finest.
Pound for pound, the best 14-year-old surfer on the East Coast is Noah Schweizer.
“I felt
comfortable being at my homebreak, and this contest is just fun,” Noah said. “Hanging
out with all my friends and winning didn’t hurt.”
The rain really set in for
the Girls 16/Under final, but the waves kept coming, although slightly smaller yet
cleaner because of the downpour. North Carolina’s Darsha Pigford made the most
out of every wave she got, while Hawaii’s Bailey Nagy exuded calm in the
maelstrom around her. Montauk, NY/ Puerto Rico half-timer Quincy Davis
quickly put the other girls behind her and continued to apply the graceful
competitive pressure that has been a hallmark of her ascendance, but it wasn’t
enough to hold off Central Florida’s Nikki Viesins.
It was still pouring, and we
endured the third wind switch of the day, but the waves were glassing off and
producing the best little ramps around for the Boys 16/Under final. An
all-Florida affair, Deerfield Beach’s Tanner Strohmenger went head-to-head with
St. Augustine’s Keto Burns and local boys Noah Schweizer and Evan Geiselman.
And guess how things started? Big frontside air-reverse by Evan. Tanner clocked
in at high noon with a couple of nice backside verts, but with the peaks
shifting he couldn’t find the high scoring combos he needed. Noah styled and
flowed his way through the heat on his way to placing 3rd, while Keto started
off calm but came on in the last minute with a heroic air and some well-timed
snaps. Yet at his homebreak, no one can touch Evan Geiselman. Landing shuvits,
a couple of air-reverses, several frontside tail gouges, and smooth snaps, he
showed why a win at home means so much to him. “I just feel extremely
comfortable at home, so there are no nerves and I just do my thing,” Evan said.
“I love surfing events at my homebreak.”
THE PAIN: In
contests that combine so much raw talent, The Pain is always felt in the close
heats that were lost. While a few of the kids will graduate from gromhood this
year, no doubt they’ll get another shot the next time the GromSearch comes back
to New Smyrna.
THE MAN: Division
winners Nikki Viesins, Cobie Gittner, Noah Schweizer, and Evan Geiselman all
deserve props. Since Evan turns 17 next week, in 2011 the Boys 16/Under field
will be wide open for the taking.
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “It’s nice to win, but my mom threw me a party for my
U.S. Open Pro Junior victory and my birthday, so that was definitely the best
part of Saturday.” –Boys 16/Under division winner Evan
Geiselman, on to bigger and better things but still a grom at heart
“I’m definitely looking
forward to going to Puerto Rico for the World Tour [in October], so that I can see
all my favorite surfers.” –Boys 14/Under division winner Noah
Schweizer, less concerned with his upcoming performance in Puerto Rico and more
focused on the Top 34
FINAL RESULTS OF THE RIP CURL GROMSEARCH FUELED BY
H2O OVERDRIVE STOP #4:
GIRLS 16/UNDER 1. Nikki Viesins
2. Quincy Davis
3. Bailey Nagy
4. Darsha Pigford
BOYS 12/UNDER 1. Cobie Gittner
2. Dane Mackie
3. Luke Marks
4. Stevie Pittman
BOYS 14/UNDER 1. Noah Schweizer
2. Logan Hayes
3. Dane Mackie
4. Corey Howell
BOYS 16/UNDER 1. Evan Geiselman
2. Keto Burns
3. Noah Schweizer
4. Tanner Strohmenger
H20 OVERDRIVE MANEUVER OF THE EVENT Evan Geiselman, $100
DRAGON HIGH HEAT TOTAL
BOYS Noah Schweizer (19.7), $50
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
