SIMA Surfing America USA Champs
Presented by PacSun

Surfing America
Huntington Beach Ca
19 - 24 August 2008

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

10 US champs decided at SIMA Surfing America USA Champs

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 August, 2008 : - - San Juan Capistrano -- Surfing America, the national governing body for the sport of surfing, crowned ten new USA Champions after the adult and longboard divisions of the SIMA Surfing America USA Championships presented by PacSun were completed Tuesday in small, but contestable Huntington Beach, Ca surf.

“There’s a fun, little combo swell and it’s peaky.  Plus, the wind stayed light through most of the finals,” said Surfing America competition director Darren Brilhart.  “The surfing has been incredible so far. Tomorrow kicks off the junior divisions and it should be pretty exciting because the best kids in the nation are here.”

Taking down the Mens final (18-29) was North Carolina’s Cody Leutgens, who left his fellow competitors looking for a combination of scores after posting a total of 17.00 points (8.83 and 8.17).  Leutgens lit up a pair of righthanders with explosive, fins-free surfing.

“I got a good wave right off the bat and had the confidence,” Leutgens said.  “From then on it was just rip, tear, and lacerate – RTL.  I’m from the East Coast so surfing waves like this is an everyday thing.”

In a rare occurence, eventual Girls Longboard winner Kate Easton was required to leave the line-up with just under seven minutes remaining after amassing two interference penalties during the twenty-five minute final.  Easton amazingly retained the lead despite having her two top scores (a 14.83 total) cut in half.  Largely thanks to her near-perfect 9.5 ride, Easton earned her first USA Championship title.

Surfline, the Official Forecaster of the SIMA Surfing America USA Championships, is calling for a continued mix of shadowed south swell and increasing northwest swell as the week progresses.  The afternoon winds look to remain relatively light, with more-than-contestable surf in the knee-to-waist high plus range through Sunday’s finals.

“We’re excited about this year’s all-inclusive USA Championship event because we have one of the best fields of competitors ever,” said Surfing America executive director Mike Gerard.  “With the junior divisions kicking off tomorrow, things will really begin to heat up.”

All youth divisions will run from Wednesday, August 20th through Sunday, August 24th, with the naming of the 2008/2009 PacSun USA Surf Team after the finals. The event includes a live webcast on www.SurfingAmerica.org that begins on Thursday, August 21st. Official Results of the adult and longboard divisions of the 2008 SIMA Surfing America USA Championships presented by PacSun are as follows:

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)

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Previous reports:
# 1 : SIMA Surfing America US Champs announced for August
# 2 : SIMA Surfing America USA Champs by PacSun gets ready
# 3 : SIMA Surfing America USA Champs kicks off August 19
# 4 : Coming soon  

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