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Photo courtesy of Dugan. Jeremy Johnston took home the Open Shortboard title at the 2010 East Coast Scholastic Surfing Championships. New Smyrna Beach finished third in the tag team competition.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The 2010 East Coast Scholastic Surfing Championships concluded Wednesday in 3- to 5-foot surf at New Smyrna Beach Inlet with Jeremy Johnston taking the Open Shortboard title and UNCW taking home the Tag Team title.
Facing a solid contingent of East Coast’s finest, “JJ” pulled out a close heat win to claim the $1,250 first place Open Shortboard prize. Dealing with Liam Michelbrink, Michael Powell and Sebastian Moreno in the final, Johnston demonstrated his local knowledge of the peaky conditions with two solid scores to secure another East Coast win.
“Friday and Saturday had some fun waves wrapping around the jetty, but Sunday was a whole different ballgame," Johnston said. "It was a matter of finding the right waves in the semis and finals because there were a lot of wedges and closeouts. Having grown up here I was super comfortable throughout the event and I’m glad I could take the win against a stacked group of surfers."
In the Open Longboard final Justin Quintal styled his way to the win over Bradley Rose, Corey Williams and Dylan Andrews.
Although the conditions weren’t ideal for the Longboard final, everyone posted a solid heat score, but Quintal's’s vertical surfing, wave selection and cat-like balance elevated him above the others. The Collegiate Men’s final featured Wes Beck, Shane Wiggins, Michael Powell and Ben Powell, with Ben Powell taking home the scholarship monies for his college expenses.
The brothers Powell battled throughout the final with Ben barely edging out his brother with an 11.84 to Michael’s 11.17 for the victory. Amy Nicholl won the Collegiate Women’s event over Brittany Tupaj, Nicole Hagopian, and Chelsea Gresham. Posting a 13.50 final heat score, Amy demonstrated she continues to be a force in the water whenever she puts on a jersey.
In the Boys final, Sam Duggan edged out Noah Schweizer, Daniel Glenn and Eros Exarhou to take the win in a close heat.
With a total heat score of 14.37, Duggan forehand proved too formidable for the other experienced surfers. In the Junior Men final, Evan Barton posted to solid scores to take the win against a contingent of fellow North Carolinians including Shane Burn and Mason Barnes, and Ormond Beach’s Austin Clouse.
Posting a heat score of 12.84, Barton demonstrated the years of surfing that has made him a force in any contest he enters. The Junior Women final, consisting of Chelsea Gresham, Kayla Durden and Chandler Von Cannon, and Savannah Bradley, witnessed Bradley dominating the difficult conditions and coming away the victor.
For contest organizers Debbie Hodges of ESA and Julie Doyle of TGSA, the event demonstrated how two organizations could come together, throw an insane contest- with a concert tied into the festivities- and provide monetary benefit for surfers and a community.
“I’m so glad ESA and TGSA work so well together. Everything came together flawlessly and we definitely achieved the goal of this event by giving back to the next generation of surfers," Hodges said. "Next year will have an even bigger prize purse and attract more competition. This event is going to be around for a long time!”
Doyle added, "This event validated the level of surfing coming out of the Texas region. We placed surfers into the semis and finals of all the divisions and I couldn’t be prouder of the event we put on. We’re definitely doing this again."
Final Results:
Image Winner Sam Duggan, Daniel Glenn & Noah Schweitzer
Boys Results: 1. Sam Duggan- $175.00 2. Noah Schweizer- $150.00 3. Daniel Glenn- $125.00 4. Eros Exarhou- $100.00
Junior Men Results: 1. Evan Barton- $350.00 2. Shane Burn- $175.00 3. Austin Clouse- $125.00 4. Mason Barnes- $100.00
Junior Women Results: 1. Savannah Bradley- $350.00 2. Chandler Von Cannon- $175.00 3. Kayla Durden- $125.00 4. Chelsea Gresham- $100.00
Collegiate Men Results: 1. Ben Powell- $450.00 2. Michael Powell- $200.00 3. Shane Wiggins- $125.00 4. Wesley Beck II- $100.00
Collegiate Women Results: 1. Amy Nicholl- $450.00 2. Chelsea Gresham- $200.00 3. Nicole Hagopian- $125.00 4. Brittany Tupaj- $100.00
Open Longboard Results: 1. Justin Quintal- $1,000.00 2. Dylan Andrews- $750.00 3. Corey Williams- $450.00 4. Bradley Rose- $300.00 Open
Shortboard Results: 1. Jeremy Johnston- $1,250 2. Sebastian Moreno- $650.00 3. Michael Powell- $400.00 4. Liam Michelbrink- $200.00
Tag Team Results: 1. UNCW- $1,200 2. UCF 3. NSB 4. TGSA/South 5. Jupiter