KUKUI‘ULA — Jeffrey Hubbard held off the competitive field in the open pro division to end up with a high seed in the finals Sunday during the second day of the Second annual Garden Island Boogie Board Classic that unfolded before hundreds of surf fans at the PK’s break.
Secure after nailing his opening round with an 11.30 behind rides scoring 5.63 and 5.67, Hubbard took command of the quarterfinals, nailing rides of 7.93 and 7.70 on his first two waves for a 15.63 total, challenged by Matt Holzy, who milked the heat to nail seven-point rides on his final three waves. The effort fell short as Holzy was only able to pile up 14.73 points.
Moving to the semis, Hubbard again showed strong on his first two waves for a 14.20 total, being bested by Mack Crilley, who finished his heat with waves scoring 7.33 and 8.27 points. Despite the strong showing, Crilley relinquished high-point honors to David Hubbard in the semifinals as he marked an 8.40 on his final ride.
This moved Jeffrey Hubbard to the high-seed spot in the finals of the open pro division, joined there by Crilley, Sammy Morretino and David Hubbard.
The open pro field was shaken up in the drop knee pro division, as Morretino edged out Kawika Rohr-Kamai by a mere 0.44 points in the semifinals to advance to the final round. David Hubbard controlled his semifinal heat with a 16.10 showing over Crilley, who posted a 12.93 total.
This resulted in Rohr-Kamai drawing the top seed in the finals of the drop knee pro division with Crilley, Morretino and David Hubbard rounding out the final heat.
Other finalists included Nanea Trask getting the red jersey for the finals of the super grom (9 and under keiki push-in), followed by Shiloh Hunt, Lelehune Reilly, Maiha Kjeldsen, Zion Carbonell and Thomas Hamilton.
Nash Burkart, winning the menehune (ages 10-13) division semifinals in powerful Centers waves with a 14.54, commanded the red jersey in the finals over Koapaka Brandenburg, Konalu Yamamoto, Koa McDaniel, Kona Rasmussen and Aarya Tabalno.
Burkart went another step, surfing up to the juniors (14-17) division and taking command of the red jersey in the finals after scoring 11.17 points, over Mana Fujihara (10.96 points) in the semifinals of the division. Bryce Hollis, Shaestin Grace, Kaikea Simpson and Santiago Kirchner filled out the finals heat.
The girls 17 and under division was limited to just the finals, that included Kailee Kaleinanialoha Gorospe wearing the red jersey, followed by the field that included Brianna Tabayoyong, Mehana Kamalani, Kaiwi Wong, Nahiku Mamala and Kaipo‘i Koa.
The open women (18-plus) was the other group limited to a finals-only heat, that included Lindsey Yasui, Marina Miller, Kanesa Duncan, Kawehi Louis-Diamond, Cassady Kruse and Cassandra Silva.
Travis Smith had the second-highest point count in the semifinals of the open men (18-plus) division, dropping to Patrick Orr, who carded 11.90 points to Smith’s 11.50. The competitive division saw Matt Holzy end with 11.40 in the semis, followed by Alex Brown with 10.97 points and Kepa Kruse dropping from his 11.40 quarterfinal performance to 9.53 points leading to the finals.
Smith drew the red jersey, followed by Orr, Kruse and Holzy.
Justin Cadiente drew the red jersey for the masters (35-plus) division that included Kelly Hunt, Jacob Pembrook and Harry Antipala.
Hosted by Kaikeha, the Garden Island Boogie Board Classic is a point-rated event for this year’s world tour. It was originally scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend, but moved due to the novel coronavirus,
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
