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KOLOHE ANDINO STORMS SIMA SURFING AMERICA USA CHAMPS
Brother takes two divisions; 2010 PacSun USA Surf Team named
By:
Mike Cianciulli
Photos: Jeremiah Klein
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August 30, 2009
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Last year, Hawaiian Keanu Asing 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 in Huntington Beach, the writing was on the wall.
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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. But 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, but proved 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." "This event is all about making the USA Team. Once I got in the final, I already made the team so I just went for it."
-- Double USA Champion Kolohe Andino
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 in the 2009 ISA Worlds 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) MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |