The Hawaii Surfing Association state championship begins today at Ala Moana Bowls on Oahu and runs through Sunday, weather and conditions permitting. The hard work put in by all of the Garden Isle surfers and groms during the Hawaii Surfing
The Hawaii Surfing Association state championship begins today at Ala Moana Bowls on Oahu and runs through Sunday, weather and conditions permitting. The hard work put in by all of the Garden Isle surfers and groms during the Hawaii Surfing Federation Kauai season has been rewarded with a number of state invites for each competitive division. HSF Kauai puts on four contests throughout the year at different breaks around the island. This year’s sites included Pine Trees in Hanalei, Kealia, and Prince Kuhio in Poipu.
When each season concludes, final point totals are made up of the surfer’s top three scores from the four events. The six surfers in each division with the highest point totals receive an invite to states. Whether or not they choose to participate at the state level, their achievements on Kauai are definitely worthy of recognition.
The points leader for the Boys 11 & Under division was Sage Tutterow, who won three of the four events and took second place in the other contest. He received his invitation along with Liam Buchanan, who had a first place and two seconds on the season, Sammy Gray, Hendrix Frankenreiter, Tahaki Papke and London Almida.
In the Boys 12-13 division, Ryder Guest topped the season rankings with a victory in the final contest and a pair of second place finishes along the way. Kai McIntyre finished second, winning one event and getting one runner-up. Cole Frye, Campbell Sheehan, Reece Leonard and Kainehe Hunt rounded out the top six, with Leonard and Hunt each picking up a first place finish.
The Boys 14-15 division was won by Elijah Fox, who won one contest and finished second twice. Dylan Lehmann won an event and finished in second place to earn a state invitation along with Zion Foster and Jadin Hamid.
Lucas Angulo topped the Juniors 16-17 division and he is joined as a state invitee by Kai Haugland, Dorian Blanchard, Jonah Currence, Daniel Carter and Jonah Ortiz.
In the Bodyboard 14 & Under division, Blaise Gokan and Royce Uemura each received an entry.
On the girls side, Gabriela Bryan won all four contests in the Girls 11 & Under division. Kahealani Papke also received an invitation by taking second place at every stop.
The Girls 12-13 division was topped by Keala Tomoda-Bannert, who won three contests along with one runner-up finish. Kelta O’Rourke won the final contest at Kealia and finished the season in second place. Sunny Patey, Tiana Tomoda-Bannert, Ashlynn Owings and Mikayla Savoie round out the top six.
The Girls 14-15 division was won by Mainei Kinimaka, who took first place at each stop. Alani Helm earned her state invite by capturing three second-place finishes.
The Kinimaka family was further represented by Maluhia Kinimaka winning the Girls 16-17 division by winning one event and taking two seconds. Shania Weiss finished a close second with one win and one runner-up.
In the Girls Longboard 17 & Under division, Kelta O’Rourke, Natalia Smith, Gabriela Bryan, Sunny Patey, Shania Weiss and Soleil Errico all earned an entry.
The men’s division was topped by Lucas Angulo, with Dorian Blanchard, Tabin Shamblin, Jonah Currence and Joel Schock taking the other the top positions.
Two stand-up paddle invitations were extended to Syrus Melandish and Natalia Smith.
Good luck to all the Kauai participants who decided to jump over to Oahu and compete with the rest of Hawaii’s top up-and-coming surfers.
