HIGH SCHOOL SURF: PV wins in Battle of Torrance Beach, Purcell-led Costa beats Penn

by Ed Solt

In the South Bay Scholastic Surfing Association, no teams are as equally matched as South High and Palos Verdes High.  It’s been a back and forth battle between two the surf teams since PV High reopened a decade ago. Last year, fired up by a sneaker-set from freshmen Parker Browning during the last heat, South won the exchange by seven points.

In the second week of the SBSSA season, the rivalry continued November 4th at Torrance beach–also the practice location of each team.  With both teams possessing local knowledge, no team had the advantage making the contest even tighter.

“It was the first real northwest swell of the winter,” said league director Richard O’Reilly.  “The swell was filling in through the morning. With each heat, overhead sets were more and more consistent.”

After a dismal and flat September and October, Torrance Beach’s sandbars have disappeared.  Waves with shape or corners were scarce.

“There were lots of Kodak courage on display as guys tried to drop in and pull into the close-out sets. As a result, three surfboards snapped,” he said. “Because it was so walled, the judges were scoring high on maximized barrel time and size.”

In the first heat of the Men’s Shortboard division on the first wave, PV’s Rodney Buck got things with a huge rollercoaster. He won by stylishly pulling into a frontside barrel. While he looked good in the process, the collapsing crystal clear lip offered no openings demolishing Buck on the inside.

In the second Men’s Shortboard heat, Spencer Paine put the Spartans on the board. He placed second with a couple of quick taps off the top and pulling into a gung-ho close-out tube ride. By connecting the inside rights (the only waves with shape) with a quick couple of turns, PV’s Will Allen placed first.

South struck back in the Women’s shortboard division.  As it seems always to happen in this division, the set’s doubled in size increasing the chance of taking gas. The lady’s survival rate became the judging criteria. Sascha Recht and Jessie Gaudet placed first and second by connecting from the outside.

Allen and Buck continued the PV tradition of surfing in multiple disciplines. Buck won the longboard heat with a near impossible cheater five recoveries on a head high set. Sticking to the better shaped inside, Buck hung five on the lefts for second place.

Midway through the contest, PV was up 48 to 36.

In the prone act of wave riding, walled conditions and barrels perfectly fit the bodyboarding mindset.

“You could hear the crowd cheer on every drop in,” O’Reilly said. “It was one of the most entertaining heats of the morning.”

South’s Colby Petty and PV’s Chad Brown exchanged grinding sandy frothing tubes. Brown won by consuming the gnarl-burger with an overhead barrel. Petty finished in 2nd place.

In the women’s longboard division, gassings continued. Overhead sets bombarded unsuspecting surfers washing them to shore.Gaudet again finished second. PV’s Emma Anderson won the division. She connected the inside rights with small cross steps to the nose.

After wiping out on a pitching overhead barrel and swallowing a gallon of seawater, PV’s Sean St. Pierre bounced back with a huge floater for the win in heat three of Men’s shortboard. South’s Sean Tallman placed second with a slash off the top on a one-maneuver wave.

Parker Browning filled the same role as last year–the Aroldis Chapman (minus the tacky mohawk and star neck tattoos) of the team. This year, the closer again stepped to the challenge.

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”1648″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”600″ gallery_height=”400″ cycle_effect=”wipe” cycle_interval=”6″ show_thumbnail_link=”1″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show picture list]” ngg_triggers_display=”never” is_ecommerce_enabled=”0″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]“Parker Browning had the maneuver of the day  – a very clean air reverse on a smaller inside right – one of the few waves with any open face,” O’Reilly said.

The sophomore’s style is beyond his years. Browning’s, carving, pumps, barrel rides, off the lips, hair flips, even wipe-outs are aesthetically pleasing.

His ability to find an open face and make a close-out day look good is a perfect example of Browning’s stand-out status and what helped him score the contest’s highest heat total.

Browning’s teammates followed his lead. Brett Kraus took second, and Ethan Lee placed third, but to no avail.

“The final score was very close (only a 4 point difference). With South going 1st 2nd 3rd in the final heat emphasizes the team aspect of these contests,” O’Reilly said. “If just two surfers from South had placed two spots higher the contest would have been tied.”

Final Score: PV 86, South 82

San Pedro vs. North High/West High/Bishop Montgomery

San Pedro High raided the North High/West High/ Bishop Montgomery combination surf team 91 to 71 in SBSSA’s B league.

Top pirate Wyatt Kircher blew minds by dropping anchor on NWBM scoring the highest total.

“Kircher was another standout surfer of the morning who managed to find a couple of longer waves allowing some turns,” said O’Reilly.

Week 1: Mira Costa vs. Peninsula

Mira Costa crushed Peninsula in the first head-to- head contest of the SBSSA 2016-2017 surf season on October 26th at 26th st. Manhattan Beach. The reigning league champions showed no weakness on their home court finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in five of the eight heats.

“The Mira Costa girls were particularly dominant,” said O’Reilly. “Kyra Williams, Megan Seth, Lauren Freidrich and longboarders Peri Nathan and freshmen Sophia Arky will be the team to beat.”

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”1647″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”600″ gallery_height=”400″ cycle_effect=”wipe” cycle_interval=”6″ show_thumbnail_link=”1″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show picture list]” ngg_triggers_display=”never” is_ecommerce_enabled=”0″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]This season might as well be a victory lap for Costa Senior Cody Purcell. After dominating the last three years and winning this year’s kick-off classic, Purcell is almost unbeatable. He scored the highest heat total. His teammate Alex Fry followed him with the second highest heat total.

Cole Yoshida stood out for Peninsula. He scored the highest heat total for the Panthers.

Final Score: 116-45

El Segundo vs Torrance

Just south down the beach in the SBSSA second league, El Segundo High demolished Torrance High 101 to 41. Shane Frontino continues to be the soaring eagle winning both the longboard and his shortboard heat for El Segundo. ER

Results:

South vs. PV

Heat 1	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 5	Bodyboard	Place	Points
Red	Luke Humphrey	3	4		Red	Luke Humphrey	3	4
Yellow	Jesse Menendez	5	2		Yellow	Colby Petty	2	5
Blue	Luke Pond	6	1		blue	Jacob Davis	4	3
		Total	7				Total	12
Orange	Rodney Buck	1	6		Orange	Chad Brown	1	6
Green	Trevor Khan	4	3		Green	Rodney Buck	5	2
White	Lucas Barajas	2	5		White	Federiko Knaudt	6	1
		Total	14				Total	9
6:45					7:45
Heat 2	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 6	Girl’s Longboard	Place	Points
Red	Spencer Paine	2	5		Red	Kelly Gibson	3	4
Yellow	Jack Prentice	6	1		Yellow	Jessie Gaudet	2	5
Blue	Alec Estrada	5	2		Blue	Tess Rigler	6	1
		Total	8				Total	10
Orange	Briggs Peus	3	4		Orange	Emma Anderson	1	6
Green	Will Allen	1	6		Green	Sarah Fairbrothers	5	2
White	Nicolas Wapner	4	3		White	Zoe Colomer	4	3
		Total	13				Total	11
7:00					8:00
Heat 3	Girl’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 7	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Hunter Richardville	6	1		Red	Sean Tallman	2	5
Yellow	Sascha Recht	1	6		Yellow	Jack McCaw	4	3
Blue	Jessie Gaudet	2	5		Blue	Peter Park	6	1
		Total	12				Total	9
Orange	Sophia Traversi	5	2		Orange	Chad Brown	3	4
Green	Savannah Scriven	3	4		Green	Sean St Pierre	1	6
White	Emma Anderson	4	3		White	Barrett Winnaman	5	2
		Total	9				Total	12
7:15					8:15
Heat 4	Men’s Longboard	Place	Points		Heat 8	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Luke Pond	5	2		Red	Parker Browning	1	6
Yellow	Luke Humphrey	3	4		Yellow	Ethan Lee	3	4
Blue	Nathan Critchett	4	3		Blue	Brett Kraus	2	5
		Total	9				Total	15
Orange	Will Allen	2	5		Orange	Charlie Winkworth	5	2
Green	Rodney Buck	1	6		Green	Andrew Laurin	4	3
White	Luke Marshall	6	1		White	Sean Ely	6	1
		Total	12				Total	6

San Pedro vs. NWBM

Heat 1	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 5	Bodyboard	Place	Points
Red	Hunter Kamppila	5	2		Red	Noah Steen	5	2
Yellow	Logan Fourmy	1	6		Yellow	Ryan Posad	2	5
Blue	Chris Carey	6	1		Blue	Wyatt Kircher	3	4
		Total	9				Total	11
Orange	Patrick Breen	4	3		Orange	Nathan Draves	1	6
Green	Zach Babbitt	3	4		Green	Ryan Linderman	6	1
White	Jacob Albright	2	5		White	Neal Draves	4	3
		Total	12				Total	10
6:45					7:45
Heat 2	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 6	Girl’s Longboard	Place	Points
Red	Ben Terrazas	6	1		Red	Daniella Clark	1	6
Yellow	Zack Guerr	3	4		Yellow	Kaya Milos	2	5
Blue	Evan Maes	2	5		Blue	Emilee Clark	4	3
		Total	10				Total	14
Orange	Scott	5	2		Orange	Karlie Clark	3	4
Green	Nate Baker	1	6		Green	Jessica Paraz	x
White	Pavle	4	3		White	Rachel Olender	x
		Total	11				Total	4
7:00					8:00
Heat 3	Girl’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 7	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Daniella Clark	2	5		Red	Shane Milos	1	6
Yellow	Lina Dumas	3	4		Yellow	Artoe Gonzalez	3	4
Blue	Kaya Milos	4	3		Blue	Noah Steen	5	2
		Total	12				Total	12
Orange	Sienna James	x			Orange	Keith Stinson	6	1
Green	Sophia Strauss	x			Green	Ryan Posad	2	5
White	Rachel Olender	1	6		White	Jackson Anderson	4	3
		Total	6				Total	9
7:15					8:15
Heat 4	Men’s Longboard	Place	Points		Heat 8	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Evan Maes	6	1		Red	Wyatt Kircher	1	6
Yellow	Tommy Milin	1	6		Yellow	Tommy Milin	3	4
Blue	Shane Milos	2	5		Blue	Sammy Padilla	6	1
		Total	12				Total	11
Orange	Jacob Albright	3	4		Orange	Brennan Krall	2	5
Green	Alex Mills	5	2		Green	Alex Hunnicutt	5	2
White	Zach Babbitt	4	3		White	Niko	4	3
		Total	9				Total	10

MCHS vs. PENN

Heat 1	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 5	Bodyboard	Place	Points
Red	Chad Coons	1	6		Red	Cooper Garner	1	6
Yellow	Zach Rosenberg	2	5		Yellow	Trey Mahan	4	3
Blue	Shane Moseley	4	3		blue	Beck Cherry	2	5
		Total	14				Total	14
Orange	Zachary Springer	6	1		Orange	Roman Morelli	5	2
Green	Cole Yoshida	3	2		Green	Ranger Woodland	6	1
White	Noam Elroi	5	4		White	Patrick Woodland	3	4
		Total	7				Total	7
6:45					7:45
Heat 2	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 6	Girl’s Longboard	Place	Points
Red	Cody Purcell	1	6		Red	Peri Nathan	3	4
Yellow	Ben Hara	5	2		Yellow	Kyra Williams	1	6
Blue	Kieran Walls	2	5		Blue	Sophia Arky	2	5
		Total	13				Total	15
Orange	Matt Amano	6	1		Orange	Minami Yamaura	x
Green	Adam Lazarus	4	3		Green	Isabel Frandsen	4	3
White	Nick Frasso	3	4		White	Skye Perranoski	5	2
		Total	8				Total	0
7:00					8:00
Heat 3	Girl’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 7	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Kyra Williams	2	5		Red	Andrew Neal	3	4
Yellow	Megan Seth	1	6		Yellow	Danny Charvat	1	6
Blue	Lauren Freidrich	3	4		Blue	Nick Cerofici	2	5
		Total	15				Total	15
Orange	Skye Perranoski	5	2		Orange	Thomas Esson	4	3
Green	Isabel Frandsen	6	1		Green	Samuel Jennings	6	1
White	Cami Masuda	4	3		White	Bless Goya	5	2
		Total	6				Total	6
7:15					8:15
Heat 4	Men’s Longboard	Place	Points		Heat 8	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Andrew Neal	1	6		Red	Alex Fry	1	6
Yellow	Danny Charvat	2	5		Yellow	Billy Atkinson	2	5
Blue	Alex Fry	3	4		Blue	Ryland Hart	3	4
		Total	15				Total	15
Orange					Orange	Colin Macleod	4	3
Green	Cloe Yoshida	4	3		Green	Joshua Belofsky	6	1
White	Colin Macleod	5	2		White	Casey Escobar	5	2
		Total	5				Total	6

El Segundo vs. Torrance

Heat 1	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 5	Bodyboard	Place	Points
Red	Victor Knapp	1	6		Red	Danny Boulgarides	3	4
Yellow	Brandon Arellano	4	3		Yellow	Jacob Samia	1	6
Blue	Sean Tennien	6	1		blue	Garret Pulsipher	2	5
		Total	10				Total	15
Orange	Haven Jarrel	2	5		Orange	Charles Bueyukian	5	2
Green	Timmy Kacius	3	4		Green	Kimu Fitisemanu	4	3
White	Ryan Brainard	5	2		White
		Total	11				Total	5
6:45					7:45
Heat 2	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 6	Girl’s Longboard	Place	Points
Red	Chase Wood	1	6		Red	Taylor Stone	2	5
Yellow	Gavin Lueck	2	5		Yellow	Porter Maese	1	6
Blue	Cooper Sutherland	3	4		Blue
		Total	15				Total	11
Orange	Sam Waters	4	3		Orange	Maddy Watson	3	4
Green	Aidan Morvice	6	1		Green	Jeanna Axton	5	2
White	Nestor Ramirez	5	2		White	Sonnie Garcia	4	3
		Total	6				Total	0
7:00					8:00
Heat 3	Girl’s Shortboard	Place	Points		Heat 7	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Taylor Stone	3	4		Red	Lukas Roscoe	1	6
Yellow	Porter Maese	2	5		Yellow	Jacob Samia	3	4
Blue					Blue	Adam Masson	4	3
		Total	9				Total	13
Orange	Maddy Watson	1	6		Orange	Sam Boden	2	5
Green	Clair Korzon				Green	Isaiah Galeon	x
White	Sonni Garcia				White	Lukas Schmit	x
		Total	6				Total	5
7:15					8:15
Heat 4	Men’s Longboard	Place	Points		Heat 8	Men’s Shortboard	Place	Points
Red	Chase Wood	3	4		Red	Shane Frontino	1	6
Yellow	Victor Knapp	4	3		Yellow	Ramzy Latif	3	4
Blue	Shane Frontino	1	6		Blue	Nate Hogsten	2	5
		Total	13				Total	15
Orange	Nestor Ramirez	5	2		Orange
Green	Noah Lickhalter	2	5		Green
White	Sam Waters	6	1		White
		Total	8				Total	0