Source: Surfing America - www.surfingamerica.org

KOLOHE ANDINO STORMS SIMA SURFING AMERICA USA CHAMPS
Brother takes two divisions; 2010 PacSun USA Surf Team Named

Article by Mike Cianciulli – Surfline.com – Published on August 30

Last year, Keanu Asing (HAW) mowed the field of mainlanders to win Under 18 and Under 16 at the USA Championships. Asing's momentum then led him straight into a shiny gold medal at ISA Worlds. So when Kolohe "Brother" Andino matched Asing's feat today –August 30- in Huntington Beach, the writing was on the wall.

"I'm definitely on a little roll right now," Andino said after winning two stacked finals just 25 minutes apart. "Keanu's been on a huge roll since then and he's still going, so hopefully I can do what he did."

What Kolohe did was bust through his age division with only Conner Coffin giving him a run for the Under 16 title. Then Andino went blow-for-blow with elder Floridian Evan Thompson in the Under 18 division and surfaced holding two USA Championship trophies.

"This event is all about making the USA Team," Andino explained. "Once I got in the final, I already made the team so I just went for it."

Went for it might be an understatement. In both finals, Andino dropped a two-wave point total of over 17.5. However, neither heat was a one-sided affair. In Under 16, Coffin matched Andino's smooth rail surfing, while Thompson mirrored his radical slashes in the older division.

Luke Davis and Dylan Goodale even tested his aerial repertoire. But none of his adversaries were able to link a variety of these maneuvers together on one wave when it mattered most. Only Andino.

Funny thing is, with the SIMA Surfing America USA Championships taking up its new home at Lower Trestles in 2010, good 'ol HB actually threw some Trestles-like surf at the nation's best junior surfers. Huntington's Southside saw peaky, clean, consistent surf that lasted the entire event.
Normally, HB is walled and windy by noon. This time however, it proved to be a perfect canvas for Andino and friends to lay down some high-performance surfing.

"The last two days have been all-time Huntington -- really good peaks, wedging reforms, and sunny weather," Andino laughed when comparing the two venues. "But, I'm sure all the Hawaiians will want to do it next year at Lowers. I'm really glad Surfing America got the permit."

And while Andino matched Asing's win tally and HB mimicked Lower Trestles, there was a giant anomaly in the girl's division. Newport Beach's Kaliegh Gilchrist dethroned a heavy Under 18 Girls field, including red-hot Courtney Conlogue and recent NSSA National Champ Lakey Peterson. Gilchrist has made the finals in this event for the past three years and never came away with a win... until now.

"It feels so good to finally get the win," Gilchrist exclaimed afterwards. "I got that wave with four minutes left and got an eight. But I knew Courtney could get a seven with her eyes closed. Luckily the ocean went flat for us."

Gilchrist, a USA Surf Team veteran, looks to improve on her 13th place finish at the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship during her final year as a junior competitor. And with messages coming in over the web from members of the French and Australia national teams, you can bet the USA juniors have some big shoes to fill on the world scene since the recent gold medal by the adult team.

"This event was a really great opportunity to evaluate the candidates for the ISA Junior team for New Zealand in January," explained head coach Ian Cairns. And after all divisional awards were given out, Cairns named the new PacSun USA Surf Team who will train for the twelve spots to compete in New Zealand.

The 2010 USA Surf Team:

Under-18 Boys:
Conner Coffin
Andrew Doheny
Evan Thompson
Evan Geiselman
Luke Davis
Ian Crane (Developmental squad)
Cam Richards (Developmental squad)

Under-16 Boys:
Kolohe Andino
Jake Halstead
Parker Coffin
Colin Moran
Trevor Thornton
Kanoa Igarashi (Developmental squad)
Taylor Clark (Developmental squad)

Under-18 Girls:
Courtney Conlogue
Lakey Peterson
Kaliegh Gilchrist
Quincy Davis
Taylor Pitz
Jasset Umbel (Developmental squad)
Cathrine Clark (Developmental squad)

2009 USA Championships Results:

Boys Under-18:
1) Kolohe Andino (CA)
2) Evan Thompson (FL)
3) Dylan Goodale (HI)
4) Luke Davis (CA)

Girls Under-18:
1) Kaleigh Gilchrist (CA)
2) Courtney Conlogue (CA)
3) Lakey Peterson (CA)
4) Natalie Anzivino (CA)

Boys Under-16:
1) Kolohe Andino (CA)
2) Conner Coffin (CA)
3) Luke Davis (CA)
4) Parker Coffin (CA)

Girls Under-16:
1) Catherine Clark (CA)
2) Lakey Peterson (CA)
3) Quincy Davis (NY)
4) Darsha Pigford (SC)

Boys Under-14:
1) Parker Coffin (CA)
2) Kadin Panessi (CA)
3) Kanoa Igarashi (CA)
4) Andrew Jacobson (CA)

Girls Under-14:
1) Kulia Doherty (HI)
2) Lulu Erkeneff (CA)
3) Bailey Nagy (HI)
4) Darsha Pigford (NC)

Boys Under-12:
1) Jacob Davis (CA)
2) Kanoa Igarashi (CA)
3) Corey Colapinto (CA)
4) Griffin Colapinto (CA)

Girls Under-12:
1) Dax McGill (HI)
2) Rossi Klein (FL)
3) Frankie Harrer (CA)
4) Avalon Johnson (CA)

Mens:
1) Matthew Taylor (CA)
2) Tanner Deprin (CA)
3) Davin Jamie (HI)
4) Mathew Jenson (CA)

Legends:
1) John Silver
2) Rick Fignetti
3) Dave Kerr
4) Albert Shannon

Seniors:
1) Chas Wickwire (CA)
2) Javier Huarcaya (CA)
3) Glen Tilly (CA)
4) Luis Soto (CA)

Masters:
1) Scott Shimoda (HI)
2) Rick Takahashi (CA)
3) Scott Whitmer (CA)
4) Rodrigo Miranda (FL)

Senior Longboard:
1) Terry Gillard (CA)
2) Frank Floyd (TX)
3) Gabe Fimbres (CA)
4) Kai Dilling (SC)

Mens Longboard:
1) Terry Gillard (CA)
2) Josh Rapozo (CA)
3) Gabe Fimbres (CA)

Junior Longboard:
1) Cody Canzoneri (TX)
2) David Arganda (CA)
3) Shaun Thompson (CA)
4) Kris Williams (CA)

Womens Longboard:
1) Mallory Turner (FL)
2) Blythe Bejan (CA)
3) Meagan Callaway (TX)
4) Heather Faustin (HI)

Girls Longboard:
1) Kelsey Daum (CA)
2) Michelle Bautista (CA)
3) Kaili Rodman (HI)
4) Rachael Tilly (CA)

Womens:
1) Morgan Gore (NJ)
2) Mallory Turner (FL)
3) Jessica Silver (CA)
4) Brittany Tupaj (TX)

SURFING AMERICA SECURES LOWER TRESTLES PERMIT FOR NEXT YEAR'S 2010 USA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Press release sent on August 20, 2009

Surfing America, the National Governing Body for surfing in the United States, received official notice this morning from California State Parks that it has been awarded the permit to hold the 2010 Surfing America USA Championships at Lower Trestles in San Onofre State Beach from June 22-26, 2010.

"This is a very big development for Surfing America and the sport of surfing in the United States," said the organization's executive director, Mike Gerard. 

"There has been a large movement afoot from within Surfing America's membership, its Board of Directors, and the surf industry to see this happen.  Now, for the first time in history, member athletes from ESA, HSA, NSSA, TGSA, and WSA will have a path to compete in the premier USA Championships event at the nation's premier venue."

Competing bidders for the Lower Trestles Permit included the National Surf League (NSL) and the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). 

Each of the three bidders were evaluated by State Parks based on established criteria addressing the best interest of the State of California, consistent with the California State Parks' Mission and the park's General Plan. 

Factors considered include potential impact on the park resources, public safety, accessibility, activities involved, and pedestrian traffic safety. Surfing America scored highest of the three proposals submitted and, as a result, won the permit bid.    

The focus of the 2010 Surfing America USA Championships at Lower Trestles will be on the Surfing America Prime, ISA, and Youth Divisions (Boys Under 18, Boys Under 16, Boys Under 14, Boys Under 12, Girls Under 18, Girls Under 16, and Girls Under 14). 

As a result, Surfing America is pleased to announce that USA Championships preliminary rounds for all other Divisions will be held at Huntington Beach Pier the week prior (June 16-19, 2010). 

Finals for all Divisions will be held at Lower Trestles and the 2011 PacSun USA Surf Team will be announced immediately following the event.

Join the Surfing America Cause on Facebook:  CLICK HERE

This year's 2009 SIMA Surfing America USA Championships presented by Verizon Wireless will take place August 25-30 at Huntington Beach Pier.  For more information, or to watch the live webcast, go to http://surfingamerica.org

Surfing AmericaMission Statement
The Mission of Surfing America is to promote the growth, competitive success, and positive image of surfing in the USA and to provide the best possible experience for all participants by encouraging, developing, advancing, and administrating the sport--while producing champions.  

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in La Jolla, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karín Sierralta (Peru).

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