2011 NSSA WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS!
2011 NSSA WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY NIKE 6.0
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA; SOUTHSIDE OF THE PIER
MAY 19-22, 2011
CONDITIONS: WAVES GALORE…THE STARS ALIGN FOR THE NSSA WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS AGAIN! A POTENT SOUTHWEST SWELL GENERATED HUGE SURF FOR THE "WESTERNS". BOMBING 6-8 FOOT WAVES WITH MASSIVE SETS OF 10-12 FEET DRILLED THROUGH THE CONTEST ARENA ON SOUTHSIDE OF THE PIER FOR DAYS ONE AND TWO. ON DAY THREE, SATURDAY MAY 21, THE SWELL DROPPED SLIGHTLY WITH SETS STILL PUMPING IN THE 8 FOOT ZONE. THE SURF CONTINUED TO DECREASE ON DAY FOUR, FINALS DAY WITH GREAT HEAD HIGH PLUS SURF.
(Huntington Beach, May 27, 2001) Trevor Thornton took home one of the biggest prizes in west coast surfing claiming the victory and the coveted "Regional” Gold Cup in the Open Men’s division of the NSSA West Coast Championships. The West Coast Championships, which is the regional qualifier for surfers to receive invitation to the National Championships, was held in phenomenal and challenging surf conditions. In true NSSA "Westerns” fashion and tradition, Mother Nature ponied up a massive dose of southwest swell that pounded the southern California coast during the event’s timetable. The magic waves of the Westerns generated a huge buzz with double overhead surf on tap the first two days of competition while the final two days saw decreasing surf but still pumping overhead conditions.
Thornton, a sophomore at the National Champion San Clemente High School, matched up with Taylor Curran, Noah Wegrich and Jake Kelley in the 25-minute final. In a thrilling and dramatic finish, Thornton nailed the winning wave in the final minute to overtake the lead and seize the victory from Curran who was sitting in first position. To make Thornton’s clutch Open victory even sweeter, he also proved to be the top aerialist at the championships launching to the Regional Airshow title.
Thornton wasn’t the only San Clemente surfer to claim the esteemed Open Gold Regional Cup. 12-year-old Griffin Colapinto, who came off an outstanding conference winning season in the Southwest Open Boys division, rose to the occasion in the heavily competitive Open Juniors category taking an impressive victory. Colapinto, who competed in four Regional divisions and made three finals, clearly paced himself on finals day. He won the Juniors final with a solid 15.34 total over Brogie Panesi, local boy Jake Saenz and Patrick Curren. As Thornton with San Clemente High School, Colapinto competes on the National Champion Shorecliffs Middle School team.
The Open Boys division was a highlight of the championships as the NSSA 12 & under kids showed up to play and charged the huge conditions. It came to no one’s surprise that Jake Marshall would bring on his "A” game in the macking conditions and emerge as the star of the division. He put on a HB clinic in his Boys semifinal running up the scoreboard dropping wave scores of 9.83 and 9.5 for a near flawless 19.33 out of a possible 20 combined heat total. Jake took the Boys victory and also secured his second straight Menehuene win which brings his career Regional win total up to four.
TWO SURFERS NAIL TRIFECTAS! – Malibu’s Frankie Harrer and Santa Barbara’s Chris Keet were in brilliant form and on their games at the West Coast Championships sweeping three titles a piece. Harrer, 13 is quickly emerging as one of the nation’s brightest, young stars. She competed in four separate categories (Open Womens and Girls, Explorer Womens and Girls) which put her in the water each day of the event. Impressively competing in a range of wave conditions including double overhead bombing conditions on days one and two, Harrer pushed her level surfing to the Gold in Open Girls, Explorer Girls and Explorer Womens. Santa Barbara luminary Chris Keet also put forth a superb 3-title triumph capturing Regional Gold in the Explorer Mens, Masters and Seniors categories.
TYLER GUNTER CHARGING!
Other Highlights: 11-year-old Tyler Gunter ruled the lineup in the Grom categories. He swept double titles in the Open Mini Grom and Super Grom divisions. In the Open Womens, Shelby Detmers used nice, crisp turns to upset leading contender and Conference Champion Taylor Pitz to seal her first Regional Championship victory. National Explorer Champion Dane Petersen claimed his first Regional victory in the Open Longboard. Breyden Taylor, who claimed the Southwest Conference Explorer Juniors title, continued the momentum clinching his first Regional title in the division. Skip McCullough was a standout performer throughout the event with the big wave conditions right up his alley. He took his first Regional Gold in the Explorer Boys and also placed second in the Explorer Juniors. Rusty Phillipy triumphed in the Super Seniors and Terry Carmadella took a rewarding win in the Duke division in a tiebreak with Conference Champion Patrick Schlick. Mike Gillard added another Regional trophy to his exceptional Championship resume capturing the win in Explorer Longboard.
SHELBY DETMERS SHREDS TO THE OPEN WOMENS VICTORY!
The 2011 NSSA West Coast Championships is presented by Nike 6.0 and proud to have support from Huntington Surf and Sport, Surfing Magazine, Sex Wax, Vitaminwater, Sugar Shack and Daphne’s California Greek Restaurant. The NSSA is a member of Surfing America, the ISA-recognized National Governing Body for Surfing in the United States.
The NSSA West Coast Championships is the fifth of six events in the 2011 NSSA Championship Series. The 2011 Championship Series events include the Interscholastic State Championships at Huntington Beach Pier March 5-7 (completed), the Hawaii Championships at Kewalo Basin, Oahu, HI March 15-20 (completed); the East Coast Championships at New Smyrna Beach Inlet, FL April 7-10 (completed); the NSSA Jr. Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA April 9 (completed); the West Coast Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA May 19-22 (completed); the NSSA National Championships at Salt Creek and Huntington Beach Pier, CA June 16-July 3.
THE SCOREBOARD
RESULTS
2011 NSSA WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS
HUNTINGTON BEACH PIER
WEST COAST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
OPEN MENS
1. Trevor Thornton-San Clemente 12.03
2. Taylor Curran-Oxnard 11.77
3. Noah Wegrich-Aptos 7.90
4. Jake Kelley-Newbury Park 4.90
OPEN JUNIORS
1. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 15.34
2. Brogie Panesi-Pacifica 13.00
3. Jake Saenz-Huntington Beach 12.13
4. Patrick Curren-Santa Barbara 10.07
OPEN BOYS
1. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 13.83
2. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 10.17
3. John Mel-Santa Cruz 6.20
4. Ryland Rubens-Pacific Beach 6.00
OPEN MINI GROMS
1. Tyler Gunter-Newport Beach 13.94
2. Nick Marshall-Encinitas 11.64
3. Cole Houshmand-San Clemente 9.40
4. Eithan Osborne-Ventura 7.33
OPEN WOMENS
1. Shelby Detmers-Newport Beach 10.67
2. Taylor Pitz-Laguna Beach 9.50
3. Danielle Wyman-Laguna Niguel 5.03
4. Tia Blanco-San Clemente 3.70
OPEN GIRLS
1. Frankie Harrer-Malibu 8.50
2. Tia Blanco-San Clemente 7.20
3. Kylie Loveland-Carlsbad 5.93
4. Avalon Johnson-Carlsbad 4.50
OPEN LONGBOARD
1. Dane Petersen-Trabuco Canyon 9.83
2. William Kolb-Aptos 8.03
3. Noah Hill-Marina Del Rey 7.70
4. Nathan Thompson-Huntington Beach 6.33
WEST COAST EXPLORER CHAMPIONSHIPS
EXPLORER MENS
1. Chris Keet-Santa Barbara 10.34
2. Dimitri Papavassiliou-Malibu 8.77
3. Shane Orr-Santa Barbara 8.23
4. Zack Emge-San Diego 6.93
5. Chris Love-Cypress 6.24
6. Britt Galland-Rancho Santa Fe 6.10
EXPLORER JUNIORS
1. Breyden Taylor-San Clemente 12.83
2. Skip McCullough-La Jolla 10.26
3. Dimitri Papavassiliou-Malibu 8.23
4. Colton Sarlo-Malibu 7.60
5. Shaun Thompson-Huntington Beach 6.60
6. Kent Nishiya-Torrance 4.00
EXPLORER BOYS
1. Skip McCullough-La Jolla 14.34
2. Christopher Murnane-Carlsbad 9.73
3. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 8.13
4. Thelen McKinna Worrell-Malibu 6.90
5. Wyatt Barrabee-Santa Cruz 6.17
6. Michael Gumina-La Jolla 4.30
EXPLORER MENEHUENE
1. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 15.66
2. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 12.56
3. Tyler Gunter-Newport Beach 12.10
4. Ryland Rubens-Pacific Beach 9.53
5. Nolan Rapoza-Long Beach 7.90
6. Kairi Noro- Shishikui, Japan 5.26
EXPLORER SUPER GROMS
1. Tyler Gunter-Newport Beach 14.17
2. Eithan Osborne-Ventura 9.83
3. Ben Seaberry-Huntington Beach 7.70
4. Zach McCormick-Solana Beach 6.07
5. Griffin Foy-Fullerton 5.90
6. Nick Marshall-Encinitas 5.63
EXPLORER WOMENS
1. Frankie Harrer-Malibu 15.00
2. Kylie Loveland-Carlsbad 10.13
3. Samantha Lamirand-Cardiff by the Sea 8.20
4. Tia Blanco-San Clemente 6.37
5. Avalon Johnson-Carlsbad 5.93
6. Filippa Ferrara-Rancho Palos Verdes 4.93
EXPLORER GIRLS
1. Frankie Harrer-Malibu 11.93
2. Tia Blanco-San Clemente 10.34
3. Tiare Thompson-La Jolla 9.04
4. Avalon Johnson-Carlsbad 8.00
5. Kylie Loveland-Carlsbad 6.67
6. Jada Galland-Rancho Santa Fe 3.87
EXPLORER MASTERS
1. Chris Keet-Santa Barbara 12.20
2. Mike Reilly-Lakewood 11.03
3. Rick Takahashi-San Diego 10.10
4. Chris Munsterman-San Diego 5.57
5. Ed Custodio-San Diego 3.64
6. Lee Toresdahl-Huntington Beach 2.46
EXPLORER SENIORS
1. Chris Keet-Santa Barbara 15.34
2. Rusty Phillipy-Cardiff by the Sea 8.86
3. Terry Gillard-Imperial Beach 8.24
4. Allen Sarlo-Malibu 7.83
5. Chris Munsterman-San Diego 7.50
6. Rick Takahashi-San Diego 6.93
EXPLORER SUPER SENIORS
1. Rusty Phillipy-Cardiff by the Sea 14.27
2. Robert Weiner-Ventura 13.67
3. Mike Gillard-Imperial Beach 8.63
4. Terry Gillard-Imperial Beach 7.87
5. Allen Sarlo-Malibu 7.76
6. Rick Fignetti-Huntington Beach 6.60
EXPLORER DUKE
1. Terry Carmadella-Huntington Beach 8.50 tiebreak
2. Patrick Schlick-La Mirada 8.50 tiebreak
3. Scott Lewis-Malibu 7.60
4. Peter Townend-Huntington Beach 5.00
EXPLORER LONGBOARD
1. Mike Gillard-Imperial Beach 12.00
2. Shaun Thompson-Huntington Beach 11.34
3. Terry Gillard-Imperial Beach 8.47
4. Austin Sonnier-San Diego 4.46
5. Daren Collins-Carlsbad 4.44
6. Christian Willerth-Huntington Beach 4.13
WEST COAST AIRSHOW CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. Trevor Thornton-San Clemente
2. Jeremy Carter-San Clemente
3. Nic Hdez-Santa Cruz
4. Shane Orr-Santa Barbara
5.5 Jake Davis-Capistrano Beach
5.5 Colin Deveze-San Clemente
