Following the 2018 U.S.A. Surfing Championships held recently at Lower Trestles, one thing was clear: if you want to gaze into surfing’s future, look to San Clemente and Hawaii. Seven junior athletes from these two regions held the eight top podium spots at the end of the comp, with North Shore Oahu’s Luana Silva shining brightest of all as she claimed two victories in one contest by clinching both the Girls Under 14 division and the Girls Under 18 title.
Also scoring victories for Hawaii was Oaka Wong from Oahu who took home the Girls Under 12 trophy and Maui’s Levi Young, who walked away with a Boys Under 14 division victory. Local San Clemente groms Cannon Carr, Samantha Sibley, Jett Schilling, and CT surfer Griffin’s younger brother Crosby Colapinto took home the remaining division titles.
In addition to crowning a handful of champions, U.S.A. Surfing revealed the lucky few selected for the U.S.A. Surfing Developmental Surf Teams (Boys and Girls) and the U.S.A. Surfing Junior National Team, which is broken up into four categories: Boys and Girls Under 18, and Boys and Girls Under 16. Strangely, while the Californian victors from the Trestles championship were all listed on the Olympic junior teams, none of the Hawaiian athletes who won there made the teams. We can only hope for a more balanced representation for the birthplace of surfing when the final U.S.A. surfing teams are selected for a trip to Japan in 2020.
FINAL CHAMPIONS
Girls U12
Oaka Wong, Hawaii
Boys U12
Cannon Carr, San Clemente, CA
Girls U14
Luana Silva, Hawaii
Boys U14
Levi Young, Hawaii
Girls U16
Samantha Sibley, San Clemente, CA
Boys U16
Jett Schilling, San Clemente, CA
Girls U18
Luana Silva, Hawaii
Boys U18
Crosby Colapinto, San Clemente, CA
U.S.A. Surfing Developmental Surf Team
Boys
Seamus Carey, Linwood, NJ
Cannon Carr, San Clemente, CA
William Hedleston, Cocoa Beach, FL
Kai Kushner, Manhattan Beach, CA
Dane Matson, San Clemente, CA
Cole McCaffray, Encinitas, CA
Sterling Makish, Deerfield Beach, FL
Lucas Owston, Oceanside, CA
Hayden Rodgers, San Clemente, CA
Hudson Saunders, Laguna Beach, CA
Luke Wyler, San Clemente, CA
Jak Zietz, Santa Barbara, CA
Girls
Sarah Abbott, Palm Beach, FL
Cascia Collings, Dana Point, CA
Taylor Green, Milton, FL
Julia Guild, San Clemente, CA
Bella Kenworthy, Dana Point, CA
Isabelle Kryger, Santa Fe, TX
Lillie Kulber, Los Angeles, CA
Marlee Lovell, Oceanside, CA
Keana Miller, Santa Cruz, CA
Syd Ott, Encinitas, CA
Audrey Presti, Melbourne Beach, FL
Bree Smith, Florida
U.S.A. Surfing Junior National Team
Boys Under 18
Crosby Colapinto, San Clemente, CA
Tommy Coleman, Vero Beach, FL
Caleb Crozier, Encinitas, CA
Noah Hill, Venice, CA
Nick Marshall, Encinitas, CA
Kade Matson, San Clemente, CA
Laird Myers, Virginia Beach, VA
Taro Watanabe, Malibu, CA
Girls Under 18
Kayla Coscino, Laguna Beach, CA
Maddie Garlough, Port Aransas, TX
Olivia Pessanha, San Diego, CA
Kirra Pinkerton, San Clemente, CA
Rachel Presti, Melbourne Beach, FL
Coral Schuster, Cocoa Beach, FL
Samantha Sibley, San Clemente, CA
Tiare Thompson, La Jolla, CA
Boys Under 16
Blayr Barton, Sandbridge Beach, Virginia
Nico Coli, San Clemente, CA
Robbie Goodwin, Jacksonville, FL
Ryan Huckabee, Flagler Beach, FL
Taj Lindblad, San Clemente, CA
Owen Moss, Wilmington, NC
Jett Schilling, San Clemente, CA
Levi Slawson, Encinitas, CA
Girls Under 16
Zoe Benedetto, Palm City, FL
Makena Burke, Ventura, CA
Ryan Daley, Dana Point, CA
Sawyer Lindblad, San Clemente, CA
Ella McCaffray, Cardiff by the Sea, CA
Ava McGowan, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Caitlin Simmers, Oceanside, CA
Alyssa Spencer, Carlsbad, CA