Surfer Keaulana still has right stuff
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
At 36 years old, Rusty Keaulana is far from rusty when it comes to longboard surfing.
Advertiser library photo
He proved it yesterday by winning the professional division of the Moku Hawai'i Open in 1- to 2-foot waves at the Ala Moana Bowl. The contest was the third stop on the Hawaiian Longboard Federation's Steinlager Summer Series.
Rusty Keaulana scored 22.6 in the four-man final.
"I feel like I still got it," Keaulana, a three-time former world longboarding champion said. "There's a new generation of kids coming up now, and they're all good surfers. But the thing I like about that is they keep me young; they keep me motivated."
Keaulana relied on his veteran maneuvers to beat three of those "new generation" surfers in the four-man final.
Keaulana's top three rides received scores of 8.8, 6.8 and 7.0 for a total of 22.6 (out of 30). He said he tried to complete a combination of nose-rides and precise slashes on every wave.
"The key is to pick the right move at the right time," he said. "There weren't that many good waves, so I was just trying to be patient."
Several of the state's top professional longboarders were competing in another professional meet in France yesterday. Keaulana, who opted not to travel to France for personal reasons, said it didn't make a difference.
"Even if all the pro guys were here, you never know whose day it's going to be," said Keaulana, owner of the Russ K. Makaha surf shop on Kapiolani Boulevard. "It's hard to win no matter who's in the contest."
Paul Teruya • Special to The Advertiser
Keaulana called his victory "a good warm-up" for the Oxbow World Longboard Championship, which will be held next month in Mexico. He has already received an invitation to compete in the world meet.
Kapono Nahina, 22, had his best finish of the year, placing second to Rusty Keaulana in the professional division of the Moku Hawai'i Open at the Ala Moana Bowl.
"Hopefully the Hawai'i guys will bring the title back home where it belongs," he said.
Kapono Nahina came the closest to Keaulana yesterday, posting a three-wave total of 20.7 in the final to take second place.
"I've been having a bad year, so I was just happy to make the final," said Nahina, 22. "The waves were small, but it was still fun."
Nahina actually caught more waves than Keaulana in the 30-minute final, but could never get the big score he needed to take the lead.
"It was taking a long time for the bigger sets to come in, so I was going after some of the smaller ones," he said. "I did what I could; just came up a little short in the end."
Kamu Auwae of Nanakuli placed third, and Venton Siliado of 'Ewa Beach was fourth.
Siliado's performance was significant considering that he was entering a professional contest for the first time. Earlier yesterday, he won the 15 to 19 age-group amateur division.
"This is my first year that I'm going all out in longboarding," said Siliado, 19. "I didn't expect to do this good against all the pros. I just entered for fun, actually."
Finals in 11 amateur divisions were also completed yesterday.
• Perkins wins: Hawai'i's Bonga Perkins won the Orange International Longboard Contest yesterday at Biarritz, France.
Perkins, a former world champion, defeated current world champion Colin McPhillips of California in the one-on-one final.
Perkins finished with a three-wave total of 24.25 (out of 30) to McPhillips' 20.4. Perkins clinched the victory with a near-perfect 9.5 ride on his final wave.
Moku Hawai'i Open
Final results
Professional: 1, Rusty Keaulana, $600. 2, Kapono Nahina, $350. 3, Kamu Auwae, $300. 4, Venton Siliado, $250. 5 (tie) Kekoa Auwae and Rob Farrow, $150. 7 (tie), Ryan Inouye and Keola Rapoza, $100. Menehune: 1, Kylan Shimokawa. 2, Cedric Caires. 3, Keanu Asing. 15-19: 1, Venton Siliado. 2, John Kaleopa. 3, Jordan Hart. 4, Job Ishiki. 5, Kainoa Duarte. 6, Keone Young. 20-29: 1, Atilla Jobbagyi. 2, Scotty Fong Jr. 3, Joey Sonognini. 4, Keala Porgatorio. 5, Andrew Imamura. 6, Kaliko Keahilihau. 30-39: 1, Keoki Pfaeltzer. 2, Makani McDonald. 3, David Carvalho. 4, Virgil Sisiam. 5, Gary Montira. 6, Ramrod Kashiwamura. 40-49: 1, Jamie Ballenger. 2, Daniel Stein. 3, Mel Kinney. 4, Calvin Maeda. 5, Robert Snelling. 6, Tomi Tsuda. 50-59: 1, Lance Ohata. 2, Glenn Rayno. 3, Neal Norris. 4, Herb Pruse. 5, Stephen Katayama. 6, Mark Angell. 60-older: 1, Kimo Austin. 2, Gabby Makalena. 3, Malcolm Ing. 4, Rabbit Kekai. 5, Bob Brown. 6, Tom Bionde. Junior Wahine: 1, Joy Magelssen. 2, Tiare Thomas. 3, Geodee Clark. 4, Kristen Magelssen. 5, Tiara Chandler. 6, Tracy Pruse. Wahine: 1, Pinoi Makalena. 2, Becky McPeek. 3, Char Iida. 4, Maka Puaa. 5, Tyra Freitas. 6, April Grover. Over 200 pounds: 1, Daniel Stein. 2, Michael Sisiam. 3, Layton Sun. 4, Virgil Sisiam. 5, John Quisano. 6, Bob Kim. Weekend Warrior: 1, Layton Sun. 2, Kaleo Kealoha. 3, Herb Pruse. 4, Mel Behasa. 5, Glenn Yoshinaga. 6, Tom Reyes.
