Ending on a High Tide: South Bay Surf League Allstar Meet [VIDEO]
Men’s shortboard 2nd place finisher, Kyle Brown smashes the lip.
All photos by Damon Brown
On Saturday, April 14th, The South Bay Surf League held their annual All Star Meet in shoulder to head surf at the Hermosa Beach Pier.
“The conditions were good,” said Dickie O’Reilly, League Director. “It was peaky and fun.”
The event is the final contest of the High Surf League season, which saw Mira Costa continuing its winning streak and taking league championship for the fourth year in a row. Palos Verdes High placed second, and Redondo High third.
“We got a lot of good surf this year with not a lot of postponed contests due to small surf,” O’Reilly said. “I was very impressed with girls taking on some of the big surf at a few of the events.”
Longboard Winner Andrew Neal opts for the slash and burn technique similar to another Mira Costa longboard ace, Tommy Ostendorf from a decade before. Ostendorf would go on to competitive success in college in the mid 2000s.
After the league championships are decided, the last event is the All Star Meet. It’s a contest that awards the individual.
“The contest is a gathering of the top surfers from the nine different high schools in the South Bay area,” O’Reilly said. “The top 36 men’s shortboarders, 24 women’s shortboarders, longboarders, women’s longboarders, and bodyboarders were chosen based on their contest results through the season.”
With winners’ prizes donated by Spyder Surfboards, the finalist of Men’s Shortboard were stoked. From left to right: Codee Stamis, Jared Boyd, Kyle Brown, and Jack Rowan.
The Senior Swan Song
For seniors like Mira Costa’s Jordan Wible, the All Star meet is an emotional contest as it’s their final contest. After four years on Varsity, a season trading first and second place with teammate Junior Sara Kohrigi in the shortboard division, and being undefeated in the women’s longboard, Wible reflected on her time on surf team.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said. “The first surf contest I ever surfed was a high school meet and I’ll always remember that.”
Her and Kohrogi were a powerhouse this year in the women’s division, taking their act all the way to the state championship.
Nice Lip Bounce! Jordan Wible is no stranger to winning as she won the Women’s Longboard Division and was undefeated the entire season.
“My most memorable moment in my four years was surfing in state’s womens repechage heat,” she said. “It was a slim chance [and their last as the repechage is the final elimination round], but we both got through.”
The Mira Costa women’s team were against the top high school surf teams in the state.
“In the finals, Sara ended up winning the championship and I took 6th,” Wible said. “Our team destroyed the other girls. We were the only team to have girls in both longboard and shortboard finals. Overall, Costa took 5th.”
Wible’s best advice to her teammates still on the team is perseverance and to take advantage of the surf team practices.
“Keep at it and surf everyday,” she said. “We’re very fortunate we get to surf everyday and in all conditions; onshore, offshore, knee high, to double overhead and macking. This prepares us for any set of conditions a contest throws at us.”
After heavily competing in the South Bay Surf League, NSSA, and other select events, Wible’s post High School career as well as for many other competitors is to step back, take it easy, and really figure out their place in the world.
“I plan on to surf and travel and mellow out and then get my paramedic’s license,” she said. “I might surf a few ASP Junior events using all I learned in competing from the last four years, but nothing too serious.” ER
Results:
Mens Shortboard: 1. Jack Rowan PV High 2. Kyle Brown MCHS 3. Jared Boyd MCHS 4. Codee Stamis MCHS 5. Kyle Beatty RUHS 6. Will Reid PV High
Men’s Longboard: 1. Andrew Neal MCHS 2. Ron Sannes South 3. Jack Rowan PV 4. Peter Neal MCHS 5. Tate Curran RUHS 6. Kris Hall RUHS
Women’s Shortboard: 1. Sara Kohrogi MCHS 2. Jordan Wible MCHS 3. Sara Curran RUHS 4. Jess Rowan RUHS 5. Amelie Vergnolle MCHS 6. Emma Waldinger RUHS
Women’s Longboard: 1. Jordan Wible MCHS 2. Jess Rowan PV 3. Sara Kohrogi MCHS4. Amelie Vergnolle MCHS 5. Sara Curran MCHS 6. Emily Seth MCHS
Bodyboard: 1. Nick Coons MCHS 2. Luc Jacquemetton MCHS 3. Kyle Beatty – RUHS 4. Adam Schoof South 5. Brennan Burrows Chadwick 6. Zac Montrose El Segundo