Eight SIMA Surfing America Surfing Champions Named in Great Surf
San Juan Capistrano, Calif. - October 23, 2007 - Surfing America, the national governing body for the sport of surfing, is pleased to name eight new USA Surfing Champions after the adult and longboard divisions of the SIMA Surfing America USA Championships were completed Tuesday in phenomenal Huntington Beach, CA surf.
Despite conditions being too windy to operate the event production equipment for Monday's proposed start, Tuesday morning delivered some of the best contestable surf the Huntington Beach Pier has ever seen.
"Today was about as good as it gets for any competition I've seen in Huntington Beach," said Surfing America event director Darren Brilhart. "It was perfect, four-to-six foot with offshore winds. Everybody was ripping and thrilled because the conditions were so perfect."
Today's top performer was Christian Clark (Encinitas, CA) who styled his way to the Junior Longboard division title by a mere 0.90 points over a strong Hawaiian named Nelson Ahina. Clark recorded the highest combined heat total of the day throughout all divisions with a 15.60 during his semi-final. Ahina was close on his heels with the second highest heat total of 14.00 on the other side of the draw.
"A couple years ago I got second, so I was super stoked to win this year," smiled Clark after the awards ceremony. "I didn't even know I got the highest scores of the day but it feels good to surf well, so I'm psyched."
Another stand out performer was Terry Gillard (Imperial Beach, CA) who won Senior Longboard and placed fourth in the Senior Shortboard final. Pat McManus (North Carolina) also turned heads in the Masters division, winning every heat including the final.
"We're excited about this year's all-inclusive USA Championship event because, not only are the waves great, but we have one of the best fields of competitors ever," said Surfing America executive director Mike Gerard. "With the Junior divisions kicking off tomorrow, things will really begin to heat up. Furthermore, our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected by the wildfires."
All the youth divisions will run from Wednesday, October 24th through Saturday, October 27th. The USA Surf Team Trials will be held on Sunday, October 28th and there will be a live webcast on www.SurfingAmerica.org from October 26th - 28th.
Official Results of the adult and longboard divisions of the 2007 SIMA Surfing America USA Championships
Girl's Longboard
1) Tory Gilkerson (CA)
2) Michelle Layton (CA)
3) Kate Easton (VA)
4) Anneke Barrie (CA)
Women's Longboard
1) Kate Bassett (MD)
2) Kayla Beckman (FL)
3) Lauren Schrichte (CA)
4) Stacia Ahina (HI)
Junior Longboard
1) Christian Clark (CA)
2) Nelson Ahina (HI)
3) Bret Robbins (HI)
4) Cody Urich (CA)
Men's Longboard
1) Josh Rapozo (CA)
2) Shawn Parkin (CA)
3) Geoff Wong (HI)
4) Gabe Fimbres (CA)
Senior Longboard
1) Terry Gillard (CA)
2) Art Baltrotsky (MD)
3) Albert Shannon (TX)
4) Gino Bell (HI)
Masters
1) Patrick McManus (NC)
2) Adam Newsome (CA)
3) Brady Martin (CA)
4) Steve Moore (FL)
Seniors
1) Jeff Battisti (CA)
2) TJ Wyman (CA)
3) Charley Hajak (FL)
4) Terry Gillard (CA)
Legends
1) John Silver (CA)
2) Rick Fignetti (CA)
3) Patrick Schlick (CA)
4) Brad Steph (TX)
Source: Surfing America
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