NSSA Southwest Open #8 Scores Phenomenal Surf at Ventura’s C Street
January 14, 2010
PRESS RELEASE

The 2009/10 fall and winter season has delivered some of the best ever surf for NSSA events as powerful swells continue to pound the west coast. This past weekend was proof again of the phenomenal year for waves we have been blessed with. A huge west/northwest swell blasted the coast producing epic 6-8 foot waves at Ventura’s California Street Pipe surf break. The best student surfers on the west coast were treated to some of the best all-time surf conditions ever witnessed at a NSSA event. No Fear’s VP of Marketing Britt Galland observed, “I took a boat trip halfway around the world and didn’t get waves as good as this!” The crowd of spectators got into the contest watching the awesome waves and it fueled the competitors to put forth some of the best surfing seen all season. Many Gold Coast Conference surfers enjoyed standout performances utilizing their home court advantage including Parker Coffin, Andrew Jacobson, Nic Hdez, Antoine Allain, Lakey Peterson, Catherine Clark, Thelen McKinna-Worrell and Spencer Farrar. “I’ve competed six years in the Gold Coast Conference and never have got C Street half as good as this!” Coffin exclaimed.

It was a major breakout contest for Huntington Beach’s Clay Crandal who took his first ever win in the premier Open Men’s category. Crandal, whose real passion is to ride mammoth size waves, still gets the competitive juices flowing once a month in the Open Season and the pumping conditions at C Street were right up his alley. He won the final on a buzzer beater where he took off on a set right and pulled off an amazing floater netting the heat winning score of 6.0. “The waves were so fun for this contest,” Crandal said. “I’m more used to surfing bigger waves and really not good in the usual 2-foot contest conditions. This is my first win so I’m stoked for sure.” A junior at Edison High School, Crandal commented about contests vs. big wave surfing. “I travel with my dad (big wave pioneer Corky Crandal) a lot to Todos Santos and other big wave secret spots in Mexico. I just like surfing big waves because it’s super fun and kind of scary and intense. Certain days I like surfing contests but some days I get frustrated with it. But there is something about doing good in contests that feels really good.” The victory will shoot Crandal up the ratings to number 12. Andrew Jacobson was shining in the incredible conditions and put together his best performance of the season. Jacobson’s strategy of sitting on the right bowl section at the southern tip of the contest area paid off as his dynamic top to bottom surfing earned him second place in the stiff competition of the Open Men’s. He also posted the event’s highest heat totals-a 17.50 in one of his earlier Open Juniors preliminary rounds. Britt Galland had his best contest result ever in the Southwest Open Season placing third in the final. Galland, who hones his skills on the more robust waves at his home break Seaside Reef, was in great form and capitalized on the superior conditions at this event. Fourth place went to Parker Coffin who was on fire all weekend unleashing a monster surfing display in both the Open Men’s and Juniors categories. Men’s ratings leader Conner Coffin sat out the event to rest a sore ankle but he will maintain his number one position. Also of note is the impressive showing of Ian Crane who has been out of competition for nearly six months with a hip injury. Crane made it to the semi-finals and will hopefully build on his solid performance at this event.

The surfing in the Open Juniors division was as good as it gets. Parker Coffin’s exploding top to bottom backside attack was nearly flawless as he hammered the lip on the running right handers heat after heat. He ended the weekend reaping perfect rewards by posting the event’s only perfect 10 in the Juniors final and winning it with a blistering 17.17 total. Taylor Clark was another consistent standout during the weekend dissecting the rights and scoring his second consecutive runner-up placing. Tommy Wehsener and Nic Hdez delivered super impressive performances throughout the weekend advancing to their first Open Juniors final of the season placing third and fourth respectively. Coffin’s victory was his fourth of the Juniors division but he gained some serious ground on ratings leader Trevor Thornton who had a tough round 2 loss. He now trails Thornton by a mere 29 points so that race is going to come down to the wire! “After my fourth place finish in the Men’s, I was psyched to do good in the Juniors,” Coffin said. “It felt good to redeem myself in the final.” Coffin who lives up the road in Santa Barbara commented on the phenomenal conditions. “I’ve never surfed C Street half this good or half this big. I didn’t know C Street even barreled until this contest. The waves were awesome.”

The skill level in the Southwest Open Boys division has been the talk of the town and this contest was a showcase of their skyrocketing potential. In another stacked final, ratings leader Kanoa Igarashi matched up with number two ranked Jake Davis, San Clemente up-and-comers Colt Ward and Griffin Colapinto, and Malibu groms Thelen McKinna-Worrell and Spencer Farrar. 12-year-old Ward was in impressive form on the bigger waves combining solid top to bottom maneuvers. In a neck and neck battle for first place, Ward edged out Jake Davis to claim his first ever victory in NSSA competition and his greatest competitive achievement to date. “I’m so stoked to finally take my first NSSA win,” an excited Ward said smiling ear-to-ear. “I’ve been watching Parker (Coffin) destroy his heats all day and he inspired me. Everybody in the Boys division is ripping this year so it really feels good to win a contest, especially in perfect waves like this!” In another tight chase for the Southwest Boys title, the defending champ Igarashi will hold a slim 50-point advantage over Davis.

In a stacked up Women’s final, reigning National Champ Lakey Peterson matched up with Kaleigh Gilchrist, Lani Doherty and Ventura local Catherine Clark. Peterson demolished a right on her third wave earning an excellent 8.83 score. Gilchrist held the lead for nearly the entire heat with 6.83 and 4.33 rides as Clark struggled to find her rhythm and Doherty showing up late. Seconds before the final buzzer, Peterson paddled into a sweet right and ripped it to shreds with a mind-blowing blow-tail maneuver to finish it off earning an 8.33 for an amazing come-from-behind victory. The victory, her fifth of the season, puts her in command of the Open Women’s standings amassing a healthy 2,000 point advantage over number two rated Gilchrist.

In the Longboard final, Jason Schechter went huge on his opening ride scoring a near-perfect 9.43. He backed it up with a second scoring wave of 6.50 to take his second win of the season. “The waves here were insane, 600 yard rides!” Schechter said. “In the final, I got one of the bigger set waves right off the bat. I pulled off a couple really big turns on the outside and the judges rewarded it with the 9.43. I’m trying to make a comeback because Shaun (Thompson) started out the season dominating. He rips so it feels good to beat him.”

Because of the strong swell and heavy rip currents, the Mini Grom 10 & under division was postponed and has been rescheduled February 7 at Salt Creek.

COMING UP IN CALI: Southwest Explorer #6 heads to Oceanside Pier January 16-17. The Southwest Open Season event #9 will be held February 6-7 at Salt Creek.

THE SCOREBOARD
RESULTS
SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE OPEN SEASON EVENT #8
C STREET PIPE, VENTURA

OPEN MENS
1. Clay Crandal-Huntington Beach 11.30
2. Andrew Jacobson-Malibu 11.10
3. Britt Galland-Rancho Santa Fe 9.30
4. Parker Coffin-Santa Barbara 8.10

OPEN JUNIORS
1. Parker Coffin-Santa Barbara 17.17
2. Taylor Clark-Encinitas 13.77
3. Tommy Wehsener-Encinitas 11.33
4. Nic Hdez-Santa Cruz 4.43

OPEN BOYS
1. Colt Ward-San Clemente 12.26
2. Jacob Davis-Capistrano Beach 12.17
3. Thelen McKinna Worrell-Malibu 10.76
4. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 9.67
5. Kanoa Igarashi-Huntington Beach 8.93
6. Spencer Farrar-Malibu 5.17

OPEN MINI GROMS
(postponed until Open event #9 February 6-7 at Salt Creek)

OPEN WOMENS
1. Lakey Peterson-Santa Barbara 17.16
2. Kaleigh Gilchrist-Newport Beach 11.16
3. Catherine Clark-Ventura 9.90
4. Lani Doherty-San Clemente 1.33

OPEN LONGBOARD
1. Jason Schechter-San Diego 15.93
2. Shaun Thompson-Huntington Beach 13.00
3. Stephanie Schechter-San Diego 4.07
4. Lucas Foster-Carlsbad 3.76
5. Justin Brand-Seal Beach 3.33
6. Nathan Thompson-Huntington Beach 3.14