Hawai'i has a long history of national champions in individual surfing.

Elite Element Academy made history yesterday by becoming the first school from Hawai'i to win the team title of the NSSA National High School Championship.

The final day of the team competition was run yesterday in 3- to 4-foot waves at Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif.

Elite Element — which is a home-school program in its first year of operation — defeated Carlsbad High of California in the championship heat.

"It was a really exciting heat," Elite Element coach Tony Moniz said. "The whole beach was cheering. We had all the Hawai'i kids cheering for us. It was awesome."

Elite Element is the first school from Hawai'i to win the high school team championship in the 30-year history of the NSSA National Championships.

NSSA stands for National Scholastic Surfing Association, and the event is recognized as the top contest in the United States for high school and middle school surfers. More than 500 surfers are participating in the week-long event.

Kiron Jabour and Coco Ho — both from O'ahu's North Shore — were the key performers for Elite Element in the championship heat, according to Moniz.

Elite Element and Carlsbad were tied atop the standings earlier in the week, so yesterday's heat was considered an overtime tie-breaker for the championship.

Each team could select three surfers to compete in the tie-breaker.

Moniz said he chose Jabour, Ho and Kaimana Jaquias.

"We went with what we felt were our three strongest," Moniz said. "The waves were onshore, so it was really challenging."

Jabour placed first, Ho was third, and Jaquias sixth.

"I caught a good one early, and then got lucky and held on," said Jabour, who is 17 and a senior-to-be. "The waves were pretty solid, so it was fun out there."

Jabour said the championship heat with Carlsbad had been set since Monday, so there was ample time to prepare.

"We were talking about it all week," he said. "There was some pressure. You feel like you weren't just representing yourself, but the school."

Ho was the only girl in the championship heat, so her placing ahead of two boys from the Carlsbad team was a crucial factor.

"We could have picked three guys like Carlsbad, but we felt like Coco was surfing as well as any of the guys out there," Moniz said. "When she got third place, that kind of clinched it for us."

Jabour said: "Coco was killing it. She's as good as anybody, guys or girls."

Ho is the daughter of famous North Shore surfer Michael Ho.

Members of the Elite Element team are Jabour, Ho, Jaquias, Kelia Moniz, Micah Moniz, Kealamakia Naihe, Isiah Moniz and Kaoli Kahokuloa.

Because it is a home-school program, the team featured surfers from O'ahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island.

Moniz said that Hawai'i schools have not been successful in previous NSSA contests because the state has yet to sanction surfing as an official high school sport.

"The government in Hawai'i doesn't support surfing," Moniz said. "We put this team together ourselves. This is a first for Hawai'i, and we're excited about it. This is the first year we put this team together, so it was a challenge, but the kids came through in the end. Imagine how many more schools from Hawai'i could have done this in the past with a little more support."

Moniz also credited officials from Elite Element for assisting with the team.

"It's a really strict school, and my kids have to do their work before they can surf," he said.

The individual divisions are scheduled to run championship heats this weekend.