Brent Reilly : photo Janice Aragon
NSSA Southwest Conference
Open Season Event #7
Huntington Beach Pier, CA
19 - 20 January 2008
NSSA Southwest Conference goes off in waist to chest high lefts and rights
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 January, 2008 : - - Brent Reilly has enjoyed a blockbuster couple of months. He continued on his amazing roll winning his second straight Open and fourth consecutive contest when you add in his victories at the last two Explorers. The 17-year-old from Carlsbad seems to be mastering every condition thrown at him from eight foot bombs at Seaside Reef to HB's waist high mushy shoulders.
Reilly kept his composure in the final trailing Adam Lambert at the five minute mark. But he dug deep and stroked into a mediocre wedge ripping multiple moves in the pocket and then sealed the deal weaving the reform perfectly all the way to the sand. He was rewarded with a 7.0 score and another truimphant performance went down in the books.
Reilly gained a little ground in the ratings but still remains in the No. 3 position behind Dane Zaun who remains at the helm followed by No. 2 ranked Andrew Bennett. Both Zaun and Bennett made the final taking third and fourth respectively while Adam Lambert put together his best display of the season taking runner-up to Reilly in the tiebreak decision.
The Open Juniors division has clicked into high gear with many surfers making quantum leaps in their skill level. The finals came to a major showdown with No. 1 ranked Taylor Thorne, Kolohe Andino, Conner Coffin and HB local Evan Kane who massacred a wave in his round one heat locking in the only perfect 10 of the contest.
Andino came flying out of the blocks on day one and stayed sharp throughout the event racking up eight heat wins, the most of the event. In deteriorating low-tide conditions Andino postioned himself to get the better waves and midway through the final, he nailed two solid scores of 6.17 and 7.33. Thorne locked in a 7.0 in the early goings but couldn’t come up with another decent score.
The Women’s final featured No. 1 ranked Sara Taylor, Courtney Conlogue who was fresh off her impressive semi-final showing at the World Juniors, Sage Erickson and Alexa Frantz. Conlogue was in dynamic form, especially on her backside where she unleashed on a left scoring an 8.67, the top wave score of all the finals.
She also posted a 16.00 heat total which was the highest of the finals. The win will move Conlogue back to the top of the leader board as she shoots for her fourth consecutive conference title. In the Boys, Andrew Jacobson broke the ice taking his first win of the season.
Kanoa Igarashi clinched the Mini Grom victory which will zoom him back to the top of the ratings ladder. Cole Robbins has been nothing short of sensational in the Longboard category nailing his fifth consecutive victory and remains undefeated in the Open Season.
OPEN MENS
1. Brent Reilly-Carlsbad 12.00 tiebreak
2. Adam Lambert-Santa Barbara 12.00 tiebreak
3. Dane Zaun-Hollyglen 11.16
4. Andrew Bennett-Goleta 7.67
OPEN JUNIORS
1. Kolohe Andino-San Clemente 13.50
2. Taylor Thorne-Newport Beach 12.33
3. Evan Kane-Huntington Beach 11.17
4. Conner Coffin-Santa Barbara 10.50
OPEN BOYS
1. Andrew Jacobson-Malibu 12.34
2. Colin Moran-Costa Mesa 9.67
3. Parker Coffin-Santa Barbara 8.50
4. Taylor Clark-Encinitas 7.84
5. Kanoa Igarashi-Huntington Beach 7.67
6. Johnny Elles-Huntington Beach 6.59
OPEN MINI GROMS
1. Kanoa Igarashi-Huntington Beach 9.66
2. Jake Marshall-Encinitas 7.17
3. Hunter Johnson-San Diego 6.16
4. Jacob Davis-Capistrano Beach 6.00
5. Decker McAllister-Santa Barbara 5.34
6. Kody Clemens-Encinitas 2.50
OPEN WOMENS
1. Courtney Conlogue-Santa Ana 16.00
2. Sara Taylor-Huntington Beach 11.17
3. Sage Erickson-Ojai 9.83
4. Alexa Frantz-San Diego 7.00
OPEN LONGBOARD
1. Cole Robbins-Santa Barbara 15.00
2. Jerry Swearingen-Carlsbad 9.17
3. Cody Ulrich-San Clemente 7.84 tiebreak
4. Mike Fisher- 7.84 tiebreak
5. J.R. Costello-Dana Point 6.00
6. Michael Maddox-Newport Beach 4.33
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Janice Aragon
NSSA Contests - Surfersvillage
