NSSA Southwest Conf. Explorer #6

National Scholastic Surfing Association
Crystal Pier Pacific Beach San Diego
3 - 4 January 2009

NSSA Southwest Conf. Explorer 6 goes off at Crystal Pier

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 8 January, 2009 : - - The Southwest Conference rung in the New Year with Explorer Season event #6 at Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach.  Small 1-3 foot waves were on offer on day-one but Sunday’s competition saw a building northwest and southwest swell combo that produced solid 3-4 foot lefts and rights.  Competitors took full advantage of the great surf conditions with high scoring rides including a perfect 10 wave score posted by Menehuene Skip McCullough.

Britt Galland reached another milestone by clinching his maiden Southwest Conference victory in the Explorer Men’s division.  Last September, Galland, 16, opened up the Northwest Conference season with an impressive win in the Open Men’s, his first ever NSSA triumph.  At Crystal Pier, Galland was on his game toppling ratings leader Colton Larson by a score of 12.0-9.0.

In Explorer Juniors action, Huntington Beach’s Derek Peters is swiftly rising up the competitive ranks.  After suffering a second round shocker at the Oceanside Harbor Open back in November, he has clearly turned his season around.  The weekend following the Oceanside Open, Peters, 15, shifted gears, entered the HB Pier Explorer and soared to a first place finish in the Juniors final. 

The next weekend, he placed third in a hotly contested Juniors final at the Church Open.  Bring in 2009 and Peters’ competitive frame of mind continues to reap rewards as he clinched his second Explorer Juniors win of the season.

In the Boys final, Taylor Clark and Kanoa Igarashi dueled head to head for the win with Clark edging out Igarashi by a half point.  But in the Menehuenes, Igarashi surfed superbly once again to win his 21st, tying the season-win record with Cory Arrambide who finished with 21 victories in the 2001-02 season. 

It’s starting to sound like a broken record but it’s only a matter of time now that Igarashi should smash the seemingly untouchable record as there are still multiple events left in the regular season. 

The odds are obvious that he will have a good shot this coming weekend January 10-11 in his home turf at Huntington Pier where the Southwest Open Season #7 will take place.  Igarashi wasn’t the only Menehuene who was in the Pacific Beach spotlight. 

In Sunday’s Menehuene quarterfinals, Skip McCullough, one day shy of his 13th birthday, celebrated early when he scored his first perfect 10 on one of the only flawless barrels that came through. 

McCullough pulled into an amazing right tube, disappeared for about four seconds, and then emerged to the loud crowd roar before finishing the wave off with a solid frontside lip blast.

In Women’s action, Natalie Anzivino locked in her second victory of the season and will build a 600-point lead in the ratings.  In the Girls division, Shelby Detmers claimed her first win of the season and will now inch closer to the top of the ratings trailing leader Harley Taich by less than 300 points.

Tim Senneff took his first Masters victory of the season in what he called, “my best performance since I won the National Super Seniors title in 2007.” 2007-08 Conference Masters Champion YuFu Penrose (2007-08) returned to competition after a six-month hiatus and gave his opponents a run for the money placing second. 

Masters/Seniors ratings leader Rick Takahashi took third behind Senneff and Penrose, but came back to deliver a sensational first-place performance in the Seniors final.  The win was Takahashi’s eighth of the season.  In the Super Seniors, Randy Fox nailed his second win of the season.  Rusty Phillipy will build on his number one ranking in the Super Seniors with a second place finish in this event.  Mike Gillard continues to control the Longboard category locking up his fourth victory in that division and sixth overall for the season.      

The NSSA West Coast Conferences are proud to have support from No Fear, Nike 6.0, Huntington Surf and Sport, Surfing Magazine, WaveWatch, Sex Wax, No Fear Energy Drink, Channel Islands Surfboards, S4 Optics and the Sugar Shack.  The NSSA is a member of Surfing America, the ISA-recognized National Governing Body for Surfing in the United States.

COMING UP IN CALI: The Southwest Conference Open Season will kick the new year off in Surf City with event #7 on the south side of Huntington Beach Pier January 10-11.  The Southwest Conference Explorer Season will travel south to Ocean Beach, San Diego for event #7 on January 17-18.  The Gold Coast Conference will bring in 2009 with a doubleheader weekend at Ventura Harbor on January 31-February 1.

THE SCOREBOARD

EXPLORER MENS
1. Britt Galland-Rancho Santa Fe 12.0
2. Colton Larson-Huntington Beach 9.0
3. Wyatt Marre-Carlsbad 8.5
4. Austin Rowe-Cardiff by the Sea 7.5

EXPLORER JUNIORS
1. Derek Peters-Huntington Beach 15.0
2. Jacob Halstead-La Jolla 13.0
3. Cooper Jones-Encinitas 10.0
4. Shayne Nelson-Huntington Beach 0.0

EXPLORER BOYS
1. Taylor Clark-Encinitas 13.0
2. Kanoa Igarashi-Huntington Beach 12.5
3. Breyden Taylor-San Juan Capistrano 11.0
4. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 8.5

EXPLORER MENEHUENE
1. Kanoa Igarashi-Huntington Beach 15.0
2. Skip McCullough-La Jolla 11.5 tiebreak
3. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 11.5 tiebreak
4. Jay Christenson-San Diego 9.5
5. Kody Clemmens-Carlsbad 8.5
4. Keone Betanzos-San Diego 2.5

EXPLORER MASTERS
1. Tim Senneff-Del Mar 14.0
2. YuFu Penrose-San Clemente 11.0
3. Rick Takahashi-San Diego 10.5
4. Tom Matthews-San Diego 9.0
5. Chris Munsterman-San Diego 8.0
6. Neil Bern-Carlsbad 6.0

EXPLORER SENIORS
1. Rick Takahashi-San Diego 16.0
2. Scott Whitmer-Gardena 11.0
3. Terry Gillard-Imperial Beach 10.5
4. Tom Matthews-San Diego 10.0
5. Rusty Phillipy-Cardiff by the Sea 9.5
6. Mike Gillard-Coronado 9.0

EXPLORER SUPER SENIORS
1. Randy Fox-Newport Beach 12.0
2. Rusty Phillipy-Cardiff by the Sea 11.0
3. Tim Senneff-Del Mar 10.5
4. Mike Gillard-Coronado 10.0
5. Bill MacLeod-Rolling Hills Estates 6.5 tiebreak
6. Steve Ling-Encinitas 6.5 tiebreak

EXPLORER WOMENS
1. Natalie Anzivino-Torrance 14.0
2. Jordan Hundley-Hudsonville, MI 10.0
3. Shelby Detmers-Newport Beach 9.0
4. Chloe Buckley-San Diego 8.0
5. Chelsea Rauhut-Oxnard 7.0
6. Marissa Hood-Ventura 6.0
7. Harley Taich-La Jolla 4.5

EXPLORER GIRLS
1. Shelby Detmers-Newport Beach 12.0
2. Harley Taich-La Jolla 6.5
3. Bryn Lutz-Carlsbad 6.0
4. Paige Ortiz-Huntington Beach 5.5
5. Avalon Johnson-Carlsbad 3.0
6. Melina Smith-San Clemente 2.5

EXPLORER LONGBOARD
1. Mike Gillard-Coronado 15.5
2. Terry Gillard-Imperial Beach 12.5
3. Brian Biggins-Brentwood 8.0
4. Brandyn Garske-San Diego 7.0
5. Conner Morey-Redondo Beach 6.5
6. Kelly Watson-San Juan Capistrano 2.5

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