Catching Waves at the ‘Greatest Show on Surf’

36th Annual San Clemente Ocean Festival offers variety of events for surfers

by Andrea Swayne

The 36th Annual San Clemente Ocean Festival isn’t just for swimmers, dory boat racers and rubber duckies; the event offers plenty of competitive opportunities for board sports athletes as well.

From stand-up paddlers and surf skiers to grom surfers ages 14 and under, the Ocean Fest brought out some of the area’s most talented, fit and stoked competitors to test their skills at the San Clemente Pier, July 21 and 22.

Here are results from the surfing and surf-related portion of the weekend’s events. Full results from the Groms Rule Surf Contest are listed along with the top three finishers in each of the SUP and surf ski events.

For full results and more photos, log on to www.sanclementetimes.com.

GROMS RULE SURF CONTEST

BOYS 10U: 1. Kai McPhillips, San Clemente; 2. Hagan Johnson, San Clemente; 3. Thatcher Johnson, Hawaii; 4. Luca Aza, San Clemente; 5. Kade Matson, San Clemente; 6. Jackson Fleming, Dana Point. BOYS 11-14: 1. Conner Dand, San Clemente; 2. Curran Dand, San Clemente; 3. Kei Kobayashi, San Clemente; 4. Drew Hemnes, San Clemente; 5. Ethan Mudge, Capistrano Beach; 6. Shane Hardy, San Clemente. GIRLS 10U: 1. Liv Stokes, Aliso Viejo; 2. Grace Pelkey, San Clemente; 3. Zoe Mortensen, Capistrano Beach; 4. Makenna Doan, San Diego; 5. Alaina Heater, Florida; 6. Reese Dewey, San Clemente. GIRLS 11-14: 1. Malia Osterkamp, San Clemente; 2. Michelle Mason, San Clemente; 3. Malia Ward, San Clemente; 4. Alexxa Elseewi, San Clemente; 5. Cate Stokes, Aliso Viejo; 6. Kalifornia Senn, San Clemente.

OPEN OCEAN PADDLE

MEN OPEN STOCK: 1. Brian Lauich, 2. Tristan Holls, 3. Colin McPhillips. MEN OPEN UNLIMITED: 1. Anthony Vela, 2. Deon Loureus, 3. James Bruce. WOMEN OPEN STOCK: 1. Candice Appleby, 2. Kelsey O’Donnell, 3. Jo Ambrosi. MEN OPEN 12: 1. Ryan Helm, 2. Fernando Stalla, 3. Dave Boehne. WOMEN OPEN 12: 1. Brandi Baksic, 2. Alison Riddle, 3. Kristin Thomas. MEN OPEN 14: 1. Byron Kurt, 2. Chance Fielder, 3. Sean Pangelinan. MEN OPEN SURF SKI: 1.Rick Sprout, 2, Brian Murphy, 3. Rob Pelkey.

SURF RACE

MEN OPEN: 1. Anthony Vela, 2, Micah Carlson, 3. Scott Diederich. WOMEN OPEN: 1. Taylor Spivey, 2, Alison Riddle, 3. Samantha Cain.

SURF SKI RACE

MEN OPEN: 1. Tom Penney, 2, Rich Sprout, 3. Rob Pelkey. WOMEN OPEN: 1. Tandis Morgan, 2, Alexandra Brown, 3. Emma Armstrong.

1K PADDLE RACE

MEN OPEN: 1. Brian Murphy, 2. Shane Scoggins, 3. Tyler Morgan. WOMEN OPEN: 1. Alison Riddle, 2. Candice Appleby, 3. Taylor Spivey.

SUP TEAM RELAY

1. Candice Appleby, Anthony Vela, Fernando Stalla and Ryan Helm; 2. Mitch Kahn, Rob Pelkey, Brandi Baksic and Byron Kurt; 3. Taylor Morgan, Bryan Murphy, Brett Wolf and Alison Riddle.

3.5-MILE SUP RACE

JUNIOR GIRLS 12: 1. Alleanna Clark, 2. Alexandria Higgins. JUNIOR BOYS 12: 1. Nick Scheel. OPEN WOMEN 12: 1. Candice Appleby, 2, Brandi Baksic, 3. Diane Wenzel. OPEN MEN 12: 1. Anthony Vela, 2, Keith Meter, 3. Kevin Nerison. SENIOR WOMEN 12: 1. Suzette Barruc, 2. Jericho Poppler. SENIOR MEN 12: 1. Bruce Brunson, 2, Scott Cheney, 3. Norm Scheel. OPEN MEN 14: 1. Eric Starnes, 2. Tatsumi Kawai, 3. Mike Irete. SENIOR MEN 14: 1. Rod Loftis, 2, Bob Farrar, 3. Mike Downey. OPEN WOMEN SURF: 1. Lori Heckenkame, 2. Kathy Ashmore. OPEN MEN SURF: 1. Mark Leierhoefer, 2. Ryan Kollock, 3. Bill Carey.