Hawai'i competitors dominate USSF event
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Led by a dynamic youth contingent, Hawai'i surfers had a successful showing at the United States Surfing Federation (USSF) National Championships last week at Oceanside, Calif.
Bernie Baker file photo • Special to The Advertiser
Hawai'i competitors won 11 national championships, including eight by surfers age 18 or younger.
Kaua'i's Kyle Ramey won the boys division and was one of the standouts of the USSF National Championships last week.
"This validates everything we try to do during the year leading up to this," said Jack Shipley, head judge of the Hawai'i Amateur Surfing Association. "It was not Hawaiian conditions, but we got Hawaiian performances."
Waves ranged from 1 to 4 feet during the week-long event. More than 400 surfers participated in what is considered to be the national championships of amateur surfing.
Hawai'i surfers won the youngest division (Hizson Lin-Kee in the menehune division for ages 11 and younger) and the oldest division (David Riddle in the legends division for ages 55 and older).
Other national champions from Hawai'i: Kyle Ramey (boys surfing), Shane Valiere (open surfing), Gia Fontany (girls surfing), Carmel Tomlinson (women surfing), Joy Magelssen (junior women longboarding), Robert Martinez (menehune bodyboarding), Nathan Rubio (junior men bodyboarding), Miya Yamaoka (women bodyboarding) and James Clancy (drop knee bodyboarding).
What's more, Hawai'i competitors also combined for 10 second-place finishes.
Valiere, a senior-to-be at Kula High on Kaua'i, recorded the best scores during the final day of competition Sunday. He won the open surfing division with a two-wave total of 16.66 (out of 20). He proved his versatility, scoring a 9.0 on a left-hand wave, and then a 7.66 on a right-hand wave.
The open surfing division is considered one of the toughest titles to win because surfers of any age are eligible.
"It was kind of weird going up against all the older guys and the little kids at the same time," said Valiere, 17. "But I was just concentrating on my own waves."
Shipley described Valiere as "the surprise of the whole contest."
"Quite frankly, he went ballistic on every wave," Shipley added. "He was head and shoulders above everybody else."
Another Kaua'i surfer, Kyle Ramey, won the boys surfing division and was considered one of the overall standouts of the event.
"The waves weren't that good, so you really had to adjust during the week," said Riddle, one of the Hawai'i coaches. "Kyle was one of the few guys who didn't have a bad heat. Every day he surfed, he adjusted to the waves."
Riddle proved his worth as well, beating fellow Hawai'i surfer Ben Aipa in the final of the legends division.
Final results
How Hawai'i surfers fared:
Shortboard surfing
Menehune: 1, Hizson Lin-Kee. 3, Micah Miguel. Boys: 1, Kyle Ramey. 3, Casey Brown. 4, Torrey Meister. Junior men: 2, Hank Gaskell. 4, Masaijah Lani. Open: 1, Shane Valiere. 3, Wesley Larsen. 4, Dustin Payne. Masters: 3, Brad Chang. Legends: 1, David Riddle. 2, Ben Aipa. Girls: 1, Gia Fontany. 2, Leilani Gryde. 3, Bethany Hamilton. Women: 1, Carmel Tomlinson.
Longboard surfing
Menehune: 2, Kaleo Cajigal. 4, Daryn Flem. Junior men: 2, Aka Pai. Junior women: 1, Joy Magelssen. 2, Bethany Hamilton.
Bodyboarding
Menehune: 1, Robert Martinez. 2, Tucker Bontecou. 4, Travis Smith. Junior men: 1, Nathan Rubio. 2, Jamie Rosenfeld. 3, Kalae Jones. Men: 2, Jason Oh. 3, James Clancy. Senior men: 3, Bill Lawson. Women: 1, Miya Yamaoka. Launch: 2, Jason Oh. 3, Kalae Jones. Drop knee: 1, James Clancy. 4, Nathan Rubio.
