SSS: Stellar Shorecliffs Surfing

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Shorecliffs Middle School surf team takes big win Feb. 21 in Oceanside

Hagan Johnson of Shorecliffs Middle School was the Boys Shortboard division winner at the Feb. 21 SSS contest in Oceanside. The Shorecliffs team also came out on top. Photo: Sheri Crummer

By Andrea Swayne

With cool temperatures and an overcast sky lingering for most of the day, Orange County middle school surfers met on Feb. 21 at the Oceanside Pier for event No. 3 of the Scholastic Surf Series. Waves were in the 2- to 3-foot range. Although a south wind came up in the morning, the waves were never blown out and remained contestable throughout the event.

Originally scheduled as event No. 4, the cancellation of the January San Clemente Pier event made this stop the third of the SSS season.

Shorecliffs Middle School was the big winner of the day, topping runner-up Thurston Middle School, 265 to 201 in team competition.

Dominating in Boys Shortboard, they took five of the six available finalist spots, as well as wins, in both Division 1 and Division 2 competition. Hagan Johnson was the Division 1 winner and Deisel Rathgeber won Division 2. Other Division 1 winners were Ethan Mudge in Boys Longboard and Kirra Pinkerton in Girls Shortboard. Dylan Clemens was the Division 2 Boys Longboard winner and, also in Division 2, Malia Mauch took top honors in both Girls Shortboard and Girls Longboard.

“The talent pool is very deep among OC middle school teams and they’re amazing to watch,” said Carolyn Krammer, competition director. “Consistent surfing with aggressive maneuvers showed that these kids have really grasped the criteria and are surfing up to it. Even though the conditions weren’t perfect the surfers really rose to the challenge.”

Niguel Hills, Vista Del Mar, Bernice Ayer, Marco Forster and Don Juan Avila teams came in third through seventh, respectively.

Event No. 4—the makeup for the January San Clemente contest—is set for Saturday, Feb. 28 in Huntington Beach at Goldenwest Street.

RESULTS

Scholastic Surf Series, Orange County Middle School Division 1 and 2, Event No. 3, Feb. 21, Oceanside, Pier

DIVISION 1

TEAM:

Shorecliffs 265
Thurston 201
Niguel Hills 104
Vista Del Mar 90
Bernice Ayer 84
Marco Forster 81
Don Juan Avila 49

BOYS:

Hagan Johnson, Shorecliffs
Kade Matson, Shorecliffs
Ryan Martin, Shorecliffs
Kai McPhillips, Shorecliffs
Taj Lindblad, Shorecliffs
Jonah Clark, Thurston

BOYS LONGBOARD:

Ethan Mudge, Shorecliffs
Jameson Roller, Thurston
Ben Kappes, Niguel Hills
Bryce Mattox, Niguel Hills
Kai McPhillips, Shorecliffs
Barrett Miller, Shorecliffs

GIRLS:

Kirra Pinkerton, Shorecliffs
Kayla Coscino, Thurston
Kelly Smith, Thurston
Claire Kelly, Thurston
Lexi Alston, Bernice Ayer
Alexis Morgan, Shorecliffs

GIRLS LONGBOARD:

Liv Stokes, Thurston
Alexa Ross, Vista Del Mar
Kirra Pinkerton, Shorecliffs
Rachel Hall, Marco Forster
Kendal Osorio, Marco Forster
Lola Fisher, Thurston

COED BODYBOARD

Hayden Stein, Niguel Hills
Cole Fink, Thurston
Anthony Smetona, Shorecliffs
Nolan Tobias, Shorecliffs
Liam Gillon, Marco Forster
Olaf Trevilla, Bernice Ayer

DIVISION 2