Elongated Ihnken Puts Himself On The Map By Jon Coen
TURF: Smith
Optics Garden State Grom Grudge Match Presented by Dakine; Meters, Seaside
Park, NJ; August 30th, 2010.
ENERGY: Super
long-period groundswell usually sucks in New Jersey. Not always, but it can
often be walled and soft. The Grom Grudge Match went off in residual swell from
Hurricane Danielle as she drifted off to Europe. There were solid four-footers
in the morning, and even if they were short and dumpy, there was still plenty
of juice and plenty of fun. The afternoon got flat on the face, but offered
some shoulders with light breezes.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: Realistically, a 21-year-old isn’t really a “grom”
any longer. More like a junior…. Like, you wouldn’t throw a wet 21-year-old down
in the sand and powder him like a doughnut. He’d whip your ass. Just to keep it
real, a few legitimate 12 and 13-year-old groms entered the fray — Andrew
Rooney, Tommy Forkin, Jr., and Andrew Brooks. They got in a few turns and earned
some great experience heading into ESA Easterns later this month.
SLIDE: When the
first Grom Grudge Match came together five years ago, who would have thought
that surfers from Monmouth County would be dominating the event? Back then,
organizers might as well have just wrapped up the prize money and shipped it
down the Parkway. Ocean City is so competition-oriented, the judges’ tents stay
up all summer. But what’s even more amazing than the fact that three of this
year’s four semifinalists were surfers from north of the Manasquan River? The
Ocean City/Atlantic City boys are still competing.
Granted, Ian Bloch was a no-show, Zack Humphreys was chasing
white whales in Nova Scotia, and Chris Eaves is already off to school in
Hawaii. But the Kelly brothers, Mikey Ciaramella, Kyle Abel, and Zach Greaser
presented a solid South Jersey force.
After the quarterfinals, the format went to man-on-man. This
year, Chris Kelly was the lone Southerner in the semis, but surfed a little
flat, losing to the more critical performance of Long Branch’s PJ Raia. And
Howell homie Tommy Ihnken edged out ‘Squan boy Pat Schmidt by getting more work
done on each wave.
THE PAIN: Mikey
Ciaramella, who won the Grudge Match Trials two weeks ago, was in 2nd-place in
the quarterfinals and en route to another big day, before Pat Schmidt took a
wave at the buzzer and unleashed a buttery air-reverse to send Mikey C. from 1st
to 3rd-place. But Ciaramella will win this thing before he’s 21.
THE MAN: Lanky is
different than skinny. You wouldn’t call Michael Phelps or Kevin Garnett
“scrawny.” But many bony kids mature to be tremendous elongated athletes. Tommy
Ihnken had some results at the Grudge Trials and Grom Grudge a few years back
as a skinny kid. He dropped out of the ESA five years ago and the NSSA soon after.
He rode some massive stuff in Bali last year. Event Director Rob Cloupe gave
him a controversial wildcard into the Grudge main event in ’08, where he went
out first round. All in all, Tommy hasn’t been so visible in East Coast pro
surfing circles — this is only his second event of the year (he did the
LandShark Pro down in Florida in April.)
Yet Ihnken marched to the final without question on Monday,
facing an on-fire PJ Raia in the culminating duel (both ride for Bare Wires
Surf & Skate in Long Branch). The highlight of the final was Ihnken’s
seriously straight-up backside hack on a closeout section. Tommy took the
title, winning 11.5 – 9.5. He’s taking his money and heading back to
Bali.
YOU DO NOT
TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “Hey guys, there’s a surfing competition going on
here.” –Event Director Rob Cloupe, to a pair of North Jersey fellas with gold
chains and longboards who attempted to paddle out during the final
“The conditions were tough, but it’s pretty apparent that
there’s lots of talent coming up.” –New Jersey legend/ two-time Grudge Match
champion/ Grom Grudge judge Dean Randazzo
“Surfers from the north are really making a strong push.
We’ve got the best groms coming out of New Jersey. And we have Sam Hammer and
Gleason, the two biggest staples besides Dean, setting the pace.” –Humble
yet proud 2010 Smith Optics Grom Grudge Match champ Tommy Ihnken
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE SMITH OPTICS GARDEN STATE GROM GRUDGE MATCH PRESENTED
BY DAKINE,
SURF TACO, NIXON, DC, SKULLCANDY, AND O’NEILL: 1. Tommy Ihnken, $1500
2. PJ Raia
3. Chris Kelly, Pat Schmidt
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
