Seven local athletes earn gold in AAU Junior Beach Volleyball National Championships
Tanner Smith and Sam Caldwell (center) don t-shirts in support of Olympian Sean Rosenthal after the Hermosa Beach duo won gold in the boy’s U16 division at the AAU Junior National Championships. Joining Smith and Caldwell are silver medalists Devon Burki and Vinny Pizutti (left) and bronze medalists Jack Payne and Riley Moore. Photo by Ciena Lennon
More than 150 teams from across the country converged on the sands of Hermosa Beach last weekend to compete in the 19th annual Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Beach Volleyball National Championships with 28 local athletes taking home medals.
South Bay athletes dominated the boy’s U16 division with the Hermosa Beach duo of Sam Caldwell and Tanner Smith defeating Devon Burki (Torrance) and Vinny Pizutti (Redondo Beach) 28-18 in the gold-medal match. Jack Payne (Manhattan Beach) and Riley Moore (Pacific Palisades) placed third.
In the boy’s U10 competition, Tino Valdez (Hawthorne) and Chandler Flores (Los Angeles) earned bronze medals and in the boy’s U12 division, Bobby Barkley (Manhattan Beach) and Sebastian Rodriguez (Hermosa Beach) fell to the Honolulu, HI team of Jameson McKibbin and Ryan Wilcox 21-16 in the championship match.
The Manhattan Beach team of Casey McGarry and Roy McFarland captured gold in the boy’s U14 competition while Rob Mullahey (Manhattan Beach) and Will Bantle (Pacific Palisades) won bronze in the same division.
Roxy Vabrey and Hayes Honea proudly display the gold medal they won in the girl’s U15 division. Photo by Ciena Lennon
In the boy’s U18 division, Shane Dyer (Palos Verdes) and Brandon Kiem (Covington, LA) earned silver medals followed by Duncan Lau (Hermosa Beach) and Michael Nolan (Manhattan Beach) who took home bronze.
In girl’s competition, the Manhattan Beach team of Piper Stevens and Camryn Jones won bronze medals in the U10 age group and Lindsey Kelly (Manhattan Beach) and Makayla Bradford (Gardena) placed third in the U12 division.
A pair of Manhattan Beach teams finished third in the girl’s U14 competition with Chloe Markland joining forces with Pippa Monk-Heidrich and Presley Forbes and Sunny Villapando duplicating their 2011 third place finish in the U12 division.
In the girl’s U15 division, Roxy Vabrey (Manhattan Beach) and Hayes Honea (Redondo Beach) defeated a Park City, Utah team 28-22 in the gold-medal match.
In a thrilling championship match, Zana Muno (Hermosa Beach) and Sydney Bast (Upland) held off a rally by Lan Nguyen (Manhattan Beach) and London Chow (Rancho Mirage) for a 32-30 victory.
During Saturday’s activities, Chow was presented the award for the 2011 AAU Female Player of the Year. There was no Male Player of the Year selected.
Championship matches of the event, which showcased the next generation of beach volleyball stars, was filmed by Time Warner Cable with Randy Rosenbloom calling the play-by-play, Denny Lennon as analyst and Bob Gibson serving as field reporter.
Air times on SoCal 101 will be Wednesday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, July 20 at 9 p.m.; Saturday, July 21 at 4 p.m.; Sunday, July 22 at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. and Monday, July 23 at 8 p.m.
The AAU Junior Beach Volleyball National Championship is the oldest and largest junior event on the AAU beach volleyball tour, having been held in Hermosa Beach for the past 17 years. The first AAU competition dates back to 1957 in Manhattan Beach.
The next local AAU tournament will be the Summer Classic on Thursday, July 26 at the Marine Street courts in Manhattan Beach. The event begins at 9 a.m. and includes boys 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U and girls 10U, 12U, 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U divisions. Fee is $63. For more information, contact Gino Grajeda, ggrajeda181@msn.com or visit www.aaubeach.org.