NSSA INTERSCHOLASTIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY NO FEAR

MARCH 6-8, 2009

CHURCH, SAN ONOFRE

CONDITIONS:  Fun 2-4 foot surf for Friday’s Collegiate Championships slowly fading into the weekend. 

 

SAN DIEGO STATE, SAN CLEMENTE HIGH SCHOOL AND SHORECLIFFS MIDDLE SCHOOL WIN STATE TITLES.

 

THE SCOREBOARD

NSSA INTERSCHOLASTIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

MARCH 6-8, 2009

 

CHAMPIONS AGAIN! SAN CLEMENTE HIGH SCHOOL.

 

The NSSA Interscholastic State Championships hit the shores of Church, San Onofre March 6-8 for three intense and exciting days of competition.  47 teams comprised of 19 College teams, 12 High School Varsity Teams, 6 High School Junior Varsity Teams and 10 Middle School Teams competed at the event making this the most representative of all State Championships to date.  The championship kicked off on Friday with the Collegiate divisions and fun 2-4 foot surf.  The High School comp opened up on Saturday in 1-3 foot surf conditions with stacked heats and challenging matchups as teams competed in earnest for State glory.  The surf continued to dwindle in the 1-2 foot range for Sunday’s Middle School rounds and the State Championship finals. 

 

The No. 4 ranked San Diego State Aztecs struck back at the 2009 College State Championships after their disappointing 2-point loss at last year’s contest to UC Santa Barbara.  With 19 west coast teams competing, the competition stayed close between San Diego State, No. 2 ranked Mira Costa and No. 3 ranked Cal State San Marcos until Round 3 when the wheels fell off for the San Marco’s squad as four team members failed to advance.  It remained a close two-team affair between San Diego State and Mira Costa through the finals but the Aztec’s prevailed by one point squeaking out a 119-118 victory.  Drew Irons’ runner-up placing in the College Men’s final along with team member Scott Cole’s fifth place finish was instrumental in the Aztec’s triumph.  Team member Allie Brown also added crucial points on the board with her second place finish in the College Women’s final.  Daniel Shea brought State Championship glory to Norcal taking the College Men’s title for UC Santa Cruz.  Saddleback’s Ericka Cook claimed her first NSSA championship title winning the College Women’s category and Billy Harris took the Longboard crown for Mira Costa.  No. 1 ranked Point Loma suffered a crushing eighth place result and will give up the top seed to San Diego State going into the 2009 National Championships.

 

After struggling with consistency the past couple years, the San Clemente varsity squad came together as a team and emerged victorious in front of a hometown crowd with a 122-103 rout over Huntington Beach.  The Tritons, who were spanked by HB at last year’s State titles showed up at Church, clearly a more confident and motivated team.  "We are so stoked to be back on top right now,” San Clemente coach John Dowell said.  "One of our goals this year was to come back to Church and be successful.  We didn’t do well last year so we wanted to make sure we got back.  It’s no fun to lose.”  There were many factors involved in the Triton’s resurrection as the number one team in the state including the impressive performance displayed by High School Men’s winner Shaw Kobayashi.  The San Clemente High School junior undoubtedly has Church wave conditions down to a science.  Just last December, he took control at the Church Explorer with a double victory in the Men’s and Juniors divisions.  "It’s Trestles magic,” a beaming Kobayashi said after his victory.  "I was down here at Church almost every day for the past couple weeks.  I was tempted all week to surf Lowers because it looked so good there, but my dad told me to only surf Church and that’s what I did.  I just have this place wired, probably because I’ve been surfing at all the Trestles waves including Church since I was 10-years-old.”  Along with claiming his first major NSSA championship title, Kobayashi also lit up the scoreboard in his quarterfinal heat posting both the highest wave total (8.67) and the highest combined score (15.17) of the High School Varsity Championships.  "I’m really psyched about the win because it’s my first title,” Kobayashi said.  "Now, I want to go big at Salt Creek.  I think our team can win the Nationals and after winning States, it will give us a lot of confidence.”

 

The Tritons success was also facilitated by their strength of their special teams including finals appearances by both Women’s team members Marissa Shaw and Emmy Merrill and their Longboarder Scott Brandenburg.  Said Dowell: "Our special teams really stepped it up and put us over the top.  Marissa and Emmy’s performance in the Women’s and Scott’s talent in the Longboard all solidified our victory here.”  Newport Harbor’s Kaleigh Gilchrist clinched her second consecutive State crown in the High School Varsity Women’s while David Arganda was the sole titlist for Carlsbad High School taking the win in Longboard. 

 

After being stunned at last year’s Nationals with a sixth place finish and having gone title-less since 2006, the Tritons have clearly established themselves as a solid contender to bring the National Championship back to San Clemente in 2009.  "We definitely regained our competitive spirit this year,” Dowell said.  "It has a lot to do with the leadership on the team this year.  Shaw, Doug (Van Mierlo), Riley (Metcalf) and the addition of freshman Ian Crane has all had a positive impact.  I brought in some alumni to our team dinner because we are aiming to get back to the days of old.  There is a winning tradition in San Clemente and the team kind of lost that in the past year or two.  In preparation for the Nationals, we will be getting them down to Salt Creek to really push and motivate them.  We are all really looking forward to it.”

 

Along with the Varsity victory, San Clemente’s Junior Varsity team claimed their first ever State Championship title for the newly established division in NSSA team surfing competition.  San Clemente edged out a strong Newport Harbor Junior Varsity squad by a score of 81-79.  It was back and forth between the two teams until San Clemente pulled away in the finals.  The Triton’s victory was powered by the one-two punch of Jeremy Carter and Sam Branker who finished first and second in the JV Men’s final respectively.  Another excellent special teams performance by San Clemente surfers Melina Smith, Chelsea Byland and Eli Gillis also made a major impact.  San Clemente’s JV victory signals a promising future and possible if not probable return to prominence.  "It’s fun to win the first division of the Junior Varsity,” Dowell said.  "It’s a great format for the kids and we really wanted to put a lot of effort into the JV as well as the Varsity and it definitely showed.”

 

Newport Harbor showed up as a force this year, placing five team members in the finals including Elizabeth Eddy who took the JV Women’s State title.  The team’s impressive second place showing is a sign of good things to come for the high school who is still seeking its first National title.  The Junior Varsity Longboard title went to Edison's Shaun Thompson who delivered a sensational longboarding display in the final locking in the highest combined heat score (17.50) of the Junior Varsity Championships.     

 

SHORECLIFFS IS NUMBER ONE AGAIN IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!

 

In the Middle School Championships, Shorecliffs was unstoppable claiming their fourth consecutive State crown by a score of 133-84 over Marco Forster.  The defending National Champions positioned themselves for another dominant outcome placing six team members in the finals including three out of six in the Boys final and a title winning effort from Longboarder Andy Nieblas.  Runner-up Marco Forster is highly commended for put up their greatest effort thus far at the championship level.  Team members Lulu Erkeneff and Nicole Hines went 1-2 in the Middle School Girls final.  Dwyer’s Kanoa Igarashi took the gold in the Middle School Boys category while also notching up the biggest numbers at the 2009 State Championships.  Igarashi scored the only perfect 10 of the event in his Round 1 heat and in the same round posted the highest combined heat score (18.50) of the entire championships.

 

In addition to title sponsor No Fear, the NSSA Interscholastic State Championships is proud to have support from Nike 6.0, Huntington Surf and Sport, Surfing Magazine, WaveWatch, Sex Wax, No Fear Energy Drink.  The NSSA is a member of Surfing America, the ISA-recognized National Governing Body for Surfing in the United States.  

The NSSA Interscholastic State Championships is the first of seven events in the 2009 NSSA Championship Series presented by No Fear.  The 2009 Championship Series events include the Interscholastic State Championships at Church, the Hawaii Championships at Kewalo Basin, HI March 21-26; the East Coast Championships at Sebastian Inlet, FL April 16-19; the NSSA Jr. Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA April 1; the West Coast Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA May 13-17; the NSSA National Championships at Salt Creek and Lower Trestles, CA June 17-27; the Northeast High School Championships at Ocean City, NJ October 19.

2009 NSSA STATE CHAMPIONS.

 

THE SCOREBOARD

RESULTS

2009 NSSA INTERSCHOLASTIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

CHURCH, SAN ONOFRE

COLLEGE TEAM

1. SDSU-A 119

2. Mira Costa-Red 118

3. CSUSM-A 109

4. UCSB-A 97

5. Saddleback 89

6. UCSD-A 79

7. UCSC 61

8. Point Loma 59

9. CSULB-A 54

10. UCSB-B 52

11. Mira Costa-White 40

12. CSUSM-B 33

13. SDSU-B 27

14. UCLA 25

=15. CSULB-B 23

        Pepperdine 23

17. Golden West 18

18. UCSD-B 17

19. UCSB-C 15

 

COLLEGE MENS

1. Daniel Shea-UCSC 8.34

2. Drew Irons-SDSU 7.00

3. Keetin Devine-Mira Costa 6.84

4. Nick Olsen-Mira Costa 4.50

5. Scott Cole-SDSU 3.84

6. Marty Weinstein-UCSD 0.00

 

COLLEGE WOMENS

1. Erika Cook-Saddleback 6.50

2. Allie Brown-SDSU 5.34

3. Lipoa Kahaleuahi-UCSB 5.34

4. Sunshine Makarow-CSUSM 4.50

5. Darlene Connolly-Mira Costa 3.83

6. Chloe Buckley-Mira Costa 3.67

 

COLLEGE LONGBOARD

1. Billy Harris-Mira Costa 13.83

2. Paul Steinberg-UCSB 12.50

3. Chris Smith-CSUSM 8.50

4. Kevin Osborne-Saddleback 7.17

5. Mick Rodgers-CSUSM 6.67

6. Chris Cravey-UCSC 5.16

 

HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY TEAM

1. San Clemente 122

2. Huntington Beach 103

3. Newport Harbor 90

4. San Dieguito 73

5. Edison 71

6. Carlsbad 60

7. Laguna Beach 36

=8. Carpenteria 26

      Mira Costa 26

10. Los Alamitos 21

11. Crossroads 18

12. Marina 16

 

HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY MENS

1. Shaw Kobayashi-San Clemente 11.00

2. Evan Kane-Huntington Beach 9.00

3. Chase Wilson-Newport Harbor 7.33

4. Shayne Nelson-Huntington Beach 6.66

5. JD Lewis-San Dieguito 5.51

6. Kyle McGeary-Huntington Beach 1.67

 

HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY WOMENS

1. Kaleigh Gilchrist-Newport Harbor 13.00

2. Taylor Pitz-Laguna Beach 11.34

3. Marissa Shaw-San Clemente 7.00

4. Emmy Merrill-San Clemente 6.67

5. Anise Guzman-Edison 6.00

6. Shelby Detmers-Newport Harbor 5.00

 

HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY LONGBOARD

1. David Arganda-Carlsbad 13.00

2. Josh Gandulla-San Dieguito 10.17

3. Mike Maddox-Newport Harbor 9.83

4. Jeff Newell-Edison 9.33

5. Scott Brandenburg-San Clemente 8.83

6. Travis Sampson-Laguna Beach 6.67

 

HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM

1. San Clemente 81

2. Newport Harbor 79

3. Edison 49

4. Huntington Beach 45

5. Marina 17

6. Fusion Academy 16

 

HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR VARSITY MENS

1. Jeremy Carter-San Clemente 12.17

2. Sam Branker-San Clemente 11.00

3. Britt Galland-Fusion Academy 7.17

4. Mark Contreras-Newport Harbor 7.16

5. Randy Gilkerson-San Clemente 5.33

6. Fritz Howser-Newport Harbor 4.09

 

HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR VARSITY WOMENS

1. Elizabeth Eddy-Newport Harbor 6.50

2. Melina Smith-San Clemente 5.84

3. Chelsea Byland-San Clemente 4.00

4. Cambria Brandenburger-Newport Harbor 4.00

5. Jenee Paglia-Edison 2.84

6. Charlene Beck-Edison 2.67

6. Rachel Harris-Carpenteria 6.00

 

HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR VARSITY LONGBOARD

1. Shaun Thompson-Edison 17.50

2. Aaron Cervantes-Newport Harbor 9.67 tiebreak

3. Eli Gillis-San Clemente 9.67 tiebreak

4. Tony Bartovich-Huntington Beach 6.33

5. Britt Galland-Fusion Academy 5.83

6. Tyler Jackson-Marina 4.00

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM

1. Shorecliffs-A 133

2. Marco Forster 84

3. Sowers-A 73

4. Dwyer 66

5. Shorecliffs-B 57

6. Bernice Ayer 42

7. Vista Del Mar 40

8. Sowers-B 36

9. Carpenteria 33

10. Muirlands 21

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS

1. Kanoa Igarashi-Dwyer 11.84

2. Breyden Taylor-Shorecliffs 7.67

3. Scott Weinhardt-Marco Forster 7.50

4. Trevor Thornton-Shorecliffs 7.00

5. Jonah Carter-Shorecliffs 6.00

6. John Elles-Sowers 4.83

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS

1. Lulu Erkeneff-Marco Forster 10.33

2. Nicole Hines-Marco Forster 6.17

3. Karina Rozunko-Shorecliffs 5.17

4. Emmy Lombard-Shorecliffs 4.67

5. Torrey Miethke-Sowers 3.67

6. Laine Ortiz-Dwyer 2.67

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL LONGBOARD

1. Andy Nieblas-Shorecliffs 12.16

2. Scott Weinhardt-Marco Forster 9.33

3. Mason Klink-Shorecliffs 8.00

4. Christian Stutzman-Vista Del Mar 5.83

5. Nathan Thompson-Sowers 4.83

6. Jordan Robinson-Sowers 4.66