LIHU‘E — There is plenty of hardware making its way back to Kaua‘i after this past week’s 2010 Surfing America USA Championships at Lower Trestles in California, but hopefully Tatiana Weston-Webb packed light, as she will be squeezing two first-place
LIHU‘E — There is plenty of hardware making its way back to Kaua‘i after this past week’s 2010 Surfing America USA Championships at Lower Trestles in California, but hopefully Tatiana Weston-Webb packed light, as she will be squeezing two first-place trophies into her luggage.
Tatiana came away with championship victories in both the Girls Under 16 and Under 14 divisions, during Monday’s final heats.
Kaua‘i’s other first-place finisher was Aaron Swanson, who got the week’s finals started with a victory in the Open Men’s division on June 23. Swanson, 19, knocked off Antoine Allain, Chad Eastman and Wes Beck in the finals, after having already grabbed the 2010 Hawaiian State Championship earlier this year.
Swanson advanced with first-place finishes in both his first round and semifinal heats, as well.
Nage Melamed grabbed third place in the Girls Under 18 final, putting up big numbers throughout her event.
Nage won her opening-round heat in dominant fashion, scoring a 15.60 for an easy first-place finish. She then advanced to the semifinals with a 14.40 total in the quarters, finishing second to California’s Courtney Conlogue, who put up an 18.67.
It was the same 1-2 finish in the semis, with Courtney continuing to rip with an 18.04, as Nage advanced comfortably with a 14.80. Tatiana had also reached the semis, but finished third in the same heat with a 9.37, coming up just one round shy of being a three-time finalist in three different age divisions.
The tightly-contested Girls Under 18 final was ultimately won by Kaleigh Gilchrist, who notched a 15.67. Courtney took second with a 14.23, with Nage third at 13.00. Lakey Peterson finished fourth with an 11.03.
Kaleigh made it two years in a row for her in the Girls Under 18 division, having won the same event in 2009.
“I’m speechless I’m so stoked right now!” Kaleigh said. “Defending [my Surfing America USA Championship] title was a huge goal of mine. This is the best month ever: graduation, this and then Indo next month!”
Nage and Kaleigh tied for the heat’s top score, each notching an 8.17, but Nage was unable to find another strong ride.
Tatiana’s two final heats were both competitive, but the Under 16 was about as close as it gets. She came out on top with a 13.83 combined score, just ahead of her fellow Kaua‘i rider, Brianna Cope, who put up a 13.63, creating the 1-2 local tandem.
They each just outpointed third-place finisher Quincy Davis (13.44), while Harley Taich (8.93) came in fourth.
Tatiana and Brianna had an even closer confrontation in the semis, as Tatiana combined for a 13.84 to Brianna’s 13.83. Each was good enough to advance.
The final win for Tatiana gave her a perfect event, with four heat victories in the four rounds of the Girls Under 16 competition.
In the Under 14 event, she won the final heat with a score of 15.34. Bailey Nagy, Kulia Doherty and Frankie Harrer completed the top four. Tatiana had also scored the high score in the division with an opening-round 18.37.
Mainei Kinimaka made it to the Girls Under 12 final after a 10.88 in the semis was good enough to advance. However, she was unable to find many rides in the final, taking fourth place.
Richard Patey took second place in the Senior Longboard competition, coming up just shy of Mike Gillard’s first-place finish.
Other Kaua‘i riders made good showings, but came up short of the final heat.
It was Florida’s Evan Geiselman who took home the prestigious Boys Under 18 championship, barely outpointing Kolohe Andino, 15.37 to 15.14.
After advancing through his semifinal heat with an interference deduction, Evan trailed Kolohe by fractions of a point throughout the first half of final, but ultimately upset Kolohe’s quest for repeat double championship titles with a strong display of power surfing and technique.
“I was sweating [the semi-final], but I pulled it off and I’m stoked,” Evan said. “I always love surfing Lowers with only three guys out.”
Kolohe was the 2009 champion in both the Boys Under 18 and Under 16 divisions, and once again was crowned the Boys Under 16 champ, topping Parker Coffin, Colin Moran and Ian Gentil in the final.
“Good job to Evan,” said Kolohe about the Under 18 result. “I was stoked to be a
part of it.”
Quotes were provided by Surfing America
