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WARNING SHOTS
Keanu Asing takes two at the SIMA Surfing America USA Champs; 2009 PacSun USA Surf Team named
By:
Mike Cianciulli
Photos: All photos: A.J. Neste/Surfing America
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August 25, 2008
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Jetlag doesn't affect Keanu Asing's surfing.
Over the past two weeks, Asing won a Pro Junior in Bali, jetted home to Oahu to place third at the Macy's E-Series Pro Junior, and then zoomed to Huntington Beach to take double titles away from the mainlanders at the SIMA Surfing America USA Championships presented by PacSun.
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"It's cool to come here, see all the USA guys and compete hard with them," Asing smiled before taking his first of two podiums. "I wasn't really thinking of a double. I just tried to get good waves and surf really good. Guys like Kolohe Andino, Conner Coffin, Andrew Doheny and Nathan Carvalho are really tough competitors." The 15-year-old regularfoot, threw buckets of water and chucked out lips like they were rotten fruit. USA Coach Joey Buran took notice of Asing's assault on his talent pool. "Keanu Asing is a fantastic surfer. He earned it and I tip my hat to him," said Buran. "But I'm going to work hard for the next six months to make sure that our Under 16s are tough and this won't happen at Worlds." Even though Hawaii is separate from the USA by International Surfing Association (ISA) standards, Team America signed three islanders to the 2009 PacSun USA Surf Team - Carvalho, Nage Melamed (who came up with a big win in the Girls Under 16), and Lani Doherty. "Keanu Asing is a fantastic surfer. He earned it and I tip my hat to him. But I'm going to work hard for the next six months to make sure that our Under 16s are tough and this won't happen at Worlds."
-- PacSun USA Surf Team head coach Joey Buran
But aside from the Hawaiians seemingly endless dominance on the junior scene, California's usual suspects held it down in the two-to four-foot Huntington Beach surf. Kolohe "Brother" Andino repeated as Under 14 champion after competing in multiple divisions. Brother was the form surfer from start to finish... in his division. While he made the semifinals of Under 18s, a lulled-out morning heat saw him refocusing to defend his title. "I lost in Under 18s and didn't catch too many good waves this morning," the 14-year-old Andino quipped. "That got me fired up. I knew if I lost Under 14s I'd be really upset." Andino left the beach dejected but regrouped and readjusted his strategy to what Coach Buran has been preaching all year long. "Quick starts are what I tried to do the whole event and it worked pretty well in Under 14s," Andino said. "You never know when there will be a lull." Right on his heels was double-finalist and Maui super-grom Ian Gentil. Gentil blazed through the Under 12 field to repeat as champion but settled for second to Andino's dominance of the Under 14 final. "I've seen Martin Potter at 15, Occy at 15, Curren at 13, and I'll say that Kolohe Andino's surfing is technically perfect," Buran said of Andino's tear through Under 14s, Under 16s and Under 18s. "You forget that he's a kid." But, still, Asing kept Andino at bay in the ISA divisions. Fortunately for American surfing, Courtney Conlogue won the Girls Under 18 title. Conlogue is no strange face at Surfing America events. She's been on the national team since 2004 and recently was the Stars and Stripes highest finisher at the 2008 Quiksilver ISA World Juniors in France with a bronze medal. Unlike her competitors, Conlogue chose to only enter one division and made it count. "Only surfing one division gave me confidence," Conlogue recalled. "But I didn't have the second chance so I had to go full force. I'm stoked to win a USA title but my ultimate goal is to win the ISAs." Conlogue and her teammates will surely get their shot at gold in Ecuador at the 2009 ISA World Juniors. Top performers and a few wildcards were named to Buran's new squad at the conclusion of the six-day event. And with a freshly selected 2009 PacSun USA Surf Team, Asing's pleasant reminder that the world is larger than your backyard will remain a motivating factor for America's top juniors. As Buran reminds us, "Every contest has its own personality and this contest was all about Keanu Asing." Official Results of the 2008 SIMA Surfing America USA Championships presented by PacSun: Boys Under 18: 1) Keanu Asing (HI) 2) Conner Coffin (CA) 3) Fisher Heverly (NC) 4) Chase Wilson (CA) Girls Under 18: 1) Courtney Conlogue (CA) 2) Taylor Pitz (CA) 3) Sage Erickson (CA) 4) Kaleigh Gilchrist (CA) Boys Under 16: 1) Keanu Asing (HI) 2) Taylor Thorne (CA) 3) Andrew Doheny(CA) 4) Nathan Carvalho (HI) Girls Under 16: 1) Nage Melamed (HI) 2) Keenan Lineback (SC) 3) Taylor Pitz (CA) 4) Lani Doherty (HI) Boys Under 14: 1) Kolohe Andino (CA) 2) Ian Gentil (HI) 3) Parker Coffin (CA) 4) Jacob Halstead (CA) Girls Under 14: 1) Nikki Viesins (FL) 2) Quincy Davis (NY) 3) Tatiana Weston-Webb (HI) 4) Emily Ruppert (FL) Boys Under 12: 1) Ian Gentil (HI) 2) Kanoa Igarashi (CA) 3) Daniel Glenn (FL) 4) Brogie Pansai (CA) Girls Under 12: 1) Tatiana Weston-Webb (HI) 2) Miah Collins (CA) 3) Taylor Blake (CA) 4) Rachel Tilly (CA) Mens 1) Cody Leutgens (NC) 2) Chris McDonald (NC) 3) Chad Maseri (CA) 4) Jared Williams (CA) Womens 1) Mia Melamed (HI) 2) Jessie Carnes (FL) 3) Kayla Beckman (FL) 4) Mary Setterholm (CA) Girl's Longboard 1) Kate Easton (VA) 2) Anneke Barrie (CA) 3) Michelle Bautista-Layton (CA) 4) Chelsea Gresham (FL) Women's Longboard 1) Kayla Beckman (FL) 2) Blythe Bejan (CA) 3) Nathalie Glenn (CA) 4) Brittany Tupaj (TX) Junior Longboard 1) Dylan Andrews (FL) 2) Eli Gillis (CA) 3) Weston Williams (NC) 4) Nelson Ahina (HI) Men's Longboard 1) Ty Roach (NC) 2) Nathan Floyd (TX) 3) La'akea Davis (HI) 4) Josh Rapozo (CA) Senior Longboard 1) Mike Gallard (CA) 2) Terry Gallard (CA) 3) Kai Dilling (SC) 4) Gabe Frimbes (CA) Masters 1) Stephen Moore (CA) 2) Zack May (TX) 3) Tim Senneff (CA) 4) Brady Martin (CA) Seniors 1) Bill MacLoud (CA) 2) Mike Gallard (CA) 3) Kai Dilling (CA) 4) Terry Gillard (CA) Legends 1) John Silver (CA) 2) Rich Fignetti (CA) 3) Patrick Schlick (CA) 4) Bob Higgins (CA) The following athletes were selected to the 2009 PacSun USA Surf Team: Boys Under 18: Nathan Carvalho Andrew Doheny Victor Done Fisher Heverly Kyle McGeary Balaram Stack Chase Wilson Nat Young Dane Zaun Boys Under 16: Kolohe Andino Conner Coffin Ian Crane Luke Davis Evan Geiselman Taylor Thorne Girls Under 18: Courtney Conlogue Quincy Davis Lani Doherty Kaleigh Gilchrist Keenan Lineback Nage Melamed Lakey Peterson Taylor Pitz Super Juniors Under 14: Taylor Clark Parker Coffin Jake Halstead Andrew Jacobson Colin Moran Cam Richards Nikki Viesins MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |