ARTICLE. The final comp of the regular season for the Surfin Cougars started in clean offshore conditions for the team round, blessed with cloudless skies and a fresh pulse of swell. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long and the tide drained out with the predictable result that it wreaked havoc with the organized swell, resulting in challenging close-outs and one-hit sections.
Team Round:
HMB (60) took down northern rival Marin (50) with a fairly authoritative performance across the board, anchored by the women’s squad and men’s longboard. Clay Johnson (2), Nate Feix (1) and Ryan Bair (3) made the most of the haphazard conditions to advance in men’s shortboard. Emma Stone (1) and Ella Catalano-Dockins (2) advanced in women’s shortboard and repeated that 1-2 performance in longboard. Clay (1) and Dayton Lindsey (2) also held down men’s longboard.
Alternate/Individual Rounds:
Dex Tribble (1) took charge of his men’s shortboard alternate heat, but was unfortunately stopped cold in men’s quarters. Maddie Hauscarriague (2) also advanced as a women’s longboard alternate to the semi-finals (to joyous double high-5s all around). Clay and Ryan bowed out in men’s shortboard semis, while Nate made quarters. Clay also retired in men’s longboard semis. Dayton cross-stepped and slid his way into longboard finals with some graceful surfing that belied the rough conditions. Emma and Ella advanced together into women’s shortboard finals and Emma doubled down with a win in longboard as well, somehow making sense of the chaos and closeouts that baffled rivals.
Final Results:
Dayton Lindsey (4) men’s longboard
Emma Stone (1) women’s longboard
Emma Stone (1) women’s shortboard
Ella Catalano-Dockins (6) women’s longboard
HMB will not be taking part in State Championships as a team this year in Oceanside in April, but we look forward to taking part in a Surf Club weekend and supporting our individual surfers (and coaches) who will be competing that weekend.
Mahalo,
Coach Mike Wallace
(left to right) Ella Catalano-Dockins (6) women’s longboard;
Emma Stone (1) women’s longboard and (1) women’s shortboard;
Dayton Lindsey (4) men’s longboard
