SOUTHWEST OPEN SEASON ENJOYS STUNNING CONDITIONS AT O'SIDE'S SOUTH JETTY!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 | Written by Janice Aragon
NSSA SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
OPEN EVENT #2
OCEANSIDE SOUTH JETTY
SEPTEMBER 25-26, 2010
CONDITIONS: Building Northwest swell with pumping 4-6 foot waves and scorching temperatures provide epic contest conditions!
(Huntington Beach, Ca – September 28, 2010) – Event number 2 of the Southwest Conference Open Season experienced epic weather and wave conditions the southern California and Oceanside South Jetty are renowned for. A building northwest swell delivered 4-6 foot high performance left walls mixed in with some good rights making for excellent contest conditions. A heat wave hit southern California bringing sizzling 90 degree beach temps and calm winds to the coast keeping the ocean surface smooth created clean conditions throughout the weekend. The Southwest Open Season continued to showcase the west coast’s best surfers and well as races already heating up towards Southwest Conference titles. There were numerous standouts with outstanding performances put on by Trevor Thornton, Andrew Jacobson, Jake Davis, Jake Marshall, Griffin Colapinto, Taylor Pitz and Shaun Thompson to name a few.
In his return to Southwest Open competition, San Clemente’s Trevor Thornton wasted no time getting back in the groove taking advantage of the great lefthanders that were rifling through the contest zone. Thornton’s explosive backside on the long left walls was the winning formula in his impressive run to the victory. On Saturday in the Men’s quarters he ignited on a set left netting the top wave (9.17) and highest combined heat total (16.10) of the division. He maintained his strategy of sticking to the better lefts in Sunday’s semis and finals and his vertical powerhacks continued to impress the judges. In the final Thornton met up with Andrew Jacobson who had a huge victory in the season opener at HB Pier, Junior’s standout Jake Davis who enjoyed his second big Open Season weekend and Jonah Carter who made an impressive run to the finals. Thornton got into rhythm straight away in the 25-minute final opening up with his blistering backside attack and putting an excellent 9.0 score on the board. Thornton’s three opponents were going for broke doing what they could to find an answer to his assault. But Thornton was surfing with a sense of urgency with his sights set on winning and put the heat away early with a solid 6.17 at the 9-minute mark. Jacobson’s fourth place finish will keep him at the top of the ratings with Davis moving into second overall with his runner up showing at this event.
In the Juniors division, Jake Davis and Andrew Jacobson resumed their command after finishing one-two in the season opener at HB Pier. Both made the finals along with 11-year-old Griffin Colapinto who rose to the occasion surfing a division up and Brady Ruysschaert who was put forth his best effort in NSSA competition. In a closely contested final, Jacobson edged Davis for the win with Colapinto taking third and Ruysschaert in fourth. After an incredible successful launch to the 2010-11 NSSA season, Jacobson and Davis will now be in a tie for the ratings lead setting up an exciting battle for the conference title in both the Men’s and Juniors divisions!
The building rivalry between talented Jake Marshall and Griffin Colapinto is gaining momentum and on everyone’s radar. Both again put on spectacular displays including Marshall’s remarkable high scoring display and Colapinto’s impressive Juniors run which included a semi final which eliminated Junior star Parker Coffin. The final was a match-up between Marshall, Colapinto, Kei Kobayashi and Ryland Rubens. Marshall immediately put on the heat in the 25-minute final opening up with a perfect 10 as he hammered the lip multiple times on a set left. As his challengers struggled with finding the good waves, Marshall was revved up and exploded on another tremendous 8.67 ride walking away with a huge win on an even huger performance. “Five seconds into the heat, the perfect wave came to me,” Marshall said. “The wave had a really good line on it. It was definitely one of the best waves I think I've ever caught at Oceanside. It was so long and I rode it all the way to the beach and it seriously didn’t close out one time, it was ridiculous. I didn't think I could do another turn. It’s just crazy good out there!” After two events, Marshall and Colapinto are tied at the ratings number one position so an energizing race for the title is definitely developing. The athletic Marshall is pumped about the growing rivalry with Colapinto. “Griffin and I have pretty much been going head-to-head this season,” Marshall said. “It’s really good to be challenged. Next contest is at DMJ’s so we’ll see what happens there. It’s so fun to have someone to push you in your surfing. Yesterday when Griffin did that air reverse, I just knew I had to go big today!”
In the Mini Groms, Eithan Osborne took his first ever win in Southwest Open competition. Osborne locked up two good wave scores of 6.17 and 5.83 to take first place with second going to Zach McCormick. Dagan Stagg and Ashton Wright made their first Open Mini Grom finals taking third and fourth respectively.
Taylor Pitz continued to rule the Open Women’s division locking up her second consecutive win of the season. The final matched up Pitz with Danielle Wyman, Harley Taich and Shelby Detmers. Pitz opened up the final with a 6.67 and locked in another good 5.83 wave and was sitting in first position until Wyman lit up a bomb locking in an excellent 8.57 score. On the brink of losing her bid at a second victory, Pitz didn’t back off and ripped a 7.67 wave in an intense last minute comeback! In Girls 14 & under competition, Kulia Doherty took her second straight win of the season. Frankie Harrer took second followed by Avalon Johnson and Kloee Openshaw.
In Longboard comp, Shaun Thompson and Jason Schechter continue to challenge each other for top position. Both were in the final again joined by National Explorer Longboard Champ Dane Peterson and Thompson’s younger brother Nathan. Shaun took command at the end of the final posting scores of 6.50 and backed it up with an excellent 8.50 to seal the win. Schechter took second with Peterson in third and Nathan Thompson taking fourth. With Schechter winning the season opener, both are tied for first in the conference rankings.
Jake Marshall was named “Performer of the Event” for his “lights out” surfing in both the semis and the final which earned him the top stats of the weekend. Jake collected a bag of goodies which included goodies from Sex Wax and HSS and Jamba Juice gift certificates.
The NSSA Southwest Conference is proud to have support from Nike 6.0, Huntington Surf and Sport, Java Point, Surfing Magazine, Sex Wax, Channel Islands and Sugar Shack. The NSSA is a member of Surfing America, the ISA-recognized National Governing Body for Surfing in the United States.
COMING UP IN CALI: The Southwest Explorer resumes competition with event #3 scheduled for October 2-3 in Huntington Beach. The Gold Coast continues with event #5 at Morro Bay on October 9 followed by the season opener of the Northwest Open Season at Morro Bay on October 10. Premier competition on the west coast will continue with Southwest Open Season event #3 October 16-17 at Camp Pendleton’s Del Mar Jetty.
THE SCOREBOARD
RESULTS
SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE OPEN SEASON EVENT #2
OCEANSIDE SOUTH JETTY
OPEN DIVISIONS
OPEN MENS
1. Trevor Thornton-San Clemente 15.50
2. Jake Davis-Capistrano Beach 12.43
3. Jonah Carter-San Clemente 11.77
4. Andrew Jacobson-Malibu 9.66
OPEN JUNIORS
1. Andrew Jacobson-Malibu 13.83
2. Jake Davis-Capistrano Beach 12.87
3. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 12.07
4. Brady Ruysschaert-La Jolla 12.06
OPEN BOYS
1. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 18.67
2. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 9.80
3. Kei Kobayashi-San Clemente 8.34
4. Ryland Rubens-Pacific Beach 0.0
OPEN MINI GROMS
1. Eithan Osborne-Ventura 12.00
2. Zach McCormick-Solana Beach 9.00
3. Dagan Stagg-Carlsbad 8.77
4. Ashton Wright-San Clemente 6.34
OPEN WOMENS
1. Taylor Pitz-Laguna Beach 14.34
2. Danielle Wyman-Laguna Beach 11.74
3. Harley Taich-La Jolla 9.36
4. Shelby Detmers-Costa Mesa 5.13
OPEN GIRLS
1. Kulia Doherty-San Clemente 14.17
2. Frankie Harrer-Malibu 11.97
3. Avalon Johnson-Carlsbad 5.30
4. Kloee Openshaw-San Clemente 3.16
OPEN LONGBOARD
1. Shaun Thompson-Huntington Beach 15.33
2. Jason Schechter-San Diego 11.73
3. Dane Peterson-Trabuco Canyon 9.67
4. Nathan Thompson-Huntington Beach 6.00
PERFORMER OF THE EVENT
Jake Marshall-Encinitas