
Results from an action-packed weekend by the Pier
Photos by Eric Heinz, Text by Steve Breazeale
An estimated 56,000 people were treated to great weather and exciting action at the 40th installment of the San Clemente Ocean Festival, July 16-17.
As opposed to last year’s Ocean Fest, where spotty weather and lightning dampened spirits, this year’s version of the iconic San Clemente event featured plenty of sunshine and good water conditions for the lifeguards and athletes competing.
The event kicked off with lifeguard contests on July 16 at the Pier, and concluded with the popular Great Rubber Duck Contest on July 17, in which thousands of numbered toys “raced” through the surf in an attempt to wash up the beach first. Surf, stand-up paddleboard, fishing, sand sculpting and Ironman events filled up the days, as locals and tourists wandered the beach taking it all in.
There were several standout events this year, according to Ocean Festival race director Barrett Tester, but one of the highlights of the weekend took place during the Dory Boat races. For the first time in Ocean Fest history, a team of women competed in the field. The Huntington Beach duo of Madison Feldman and Renae Jackson participated in the event, taking seventh overall in the Race 1 and sixth overall in Race
Ideal conditions also led to one of the most exciting Grom’s Rule surf contests Tester has seen.
“The groms were awesome. The conditions were really good for that because the surf wasn’t too big or chaotic and I think it was one of the best ones ever,” Tester said. “San Clemente is a hot bed for youth surfing and we saw that out there.”
Here are the Ocean Festival contest results
Included are the top-3 finishers in each event’s respective divisions.
Surf Race
Men
- Hayden Hemmens
- Kevin Fink
- Zachary Wallace
Women
- Audrey Neilan
- Bella Siering
- Coral Kerno
Rescue Relay
Men
- Kevin Fink and Hayden Hemmens
- Parker Seale and Dominick Wallace
- Ben Brewer and Benjamin Trun
Women
- Bella Siering and Holly Maine
- Emily Neilan and Sage Pfeiffer
- Lani Merrill and Emmy Merrill
Co-ed
- Audrey Neilan and James Bray
- Sina Riahi and Raselle Chetwynd
- Brian Murphy and Brianna Erickson
Surfski
Men
- Tim Burdiak
- Brian Murphy
- Shane Scoggins
Women
- Shannon Snell
- Christina Boring
- Neilan Audrey
Dory Boat Race 1
Men
- James Bray and Dane DeBoer
- Jose Dolwar and Dick DeBoer
- Austin Trinkle and Jack Blake
Women
- Madison Feldman and Renae Jackson
Dory Boat Race 2
Men
- Austin Trinkle and Jack Blake
- James Bray and Dane DeBoer
- Jose Dolwar and Dick DeBoer
Women
- Madison Feldman and Renae Jackson
Paddle Rescue Relay
Men
- Kevin Fink and Brian Murphy
- Ben Brewer and Hayden Hemmens
- Patrick Jacobson and Tyler Morgan
Women
- Julia Garcia and Sage Pfeiffer
- Audrey Neilan and Christina Boring
- Coral Kemo and Emily Neilan
Paddle Sprints Day 1
Men
- Shane Scoggins
- Brian Murphy
- James Bray
Women
- Holly Maine
- Candice Appleby
- Coral Kemo
Paddle Sprints Day 2
Men’s 14’ Open
- Yann Lavletta
- Rob Rojas
2-18 Men
- Haakon Hoyer-Nielsen
- Patrick Cleveland
- Tyler Bashor
2-18 Women
- Shae Foudy
- Lexi Alston
- Izzi Gomez
19-39 Men
- Giorgio Gomez
- Manuel Rodriguez-Ligonio
- Jedd Hasay
40-49 Men
- Dave Boehne
- Chance Fielder
- Anthony Vela
50+ Men
- Karl Ring
American Ironman
Men
- James Bray
- Mel Solberg
- Austin Trinkle
Women
- Bella Siering
- Christina Boring
- Kemo Coral
5K Run
1-14 Girls
- Emilie Heckenkamp
- Quinn Loper
1-14 Boys
- Elijah Sech
- Patrick Riley
- Declan Murray
15-19 Women
- Amy Vollebregt
- Cortni Chantry
- Tatuni DeGoey
15-19 Men
- Andrew Goldsmith
- Alex Boving
- Tommy Gallagher
20-29 Women
- Rachel Frantz
- Jennifer Elliott
- Clarisse Naegels
20-29 Men
- Matthew Parker
- Chris Herber
- Landan Brown
30-39 Women
- Meredith Nikkel
- Katie Smith
- Kristen Racine
30-39 Men
- Isaiah Grant
- Cory Fowler
- Scott Potter
40-49 Women
- Simone Gomes
- Nicole Kersting
- Elly Harris
40-49 Men
- Marac Gerdean
- Kenneth Martin
- Edward Garcia
50-59 Women
- Denise Hertsch
- Jeanne Trimm
- Dina Flores
50-59 Men
- Brad Derthick
- Steven Strong
- Victor Flores
60-69 Women
- Pamela Wusthof
- Cyndi Mosk
- Karla Katz
60-69 Men
- Kim McDonald
- Larry Moore
- Stan Gertler
70-99 Men
- Jon Malnekoff
Biathlon
1-14 Boys
- Declan Cooper
- Wyatt Merchant
1-14 Girls
- Sydney Brouwer
15-19 Men
- Kyle Rovira
- Kian Brouwer
15-19 Women
- Emma Cooper
- Shannon Derthick
- Megan Quintilone
20-29 Men
- Ryan Makuta
- Sina Riahi
- Elliot Bilsland
20-29 Women
- Sarah Burris
- Danielle Wong
- Sage Pfeiffer
30-39 Men
- Chris Dollar
- Charles Wong
- Jeff Kennedy
30-39 Women
- Sara Kennedy
- Allison Hilgers
- Nancy Dollar-Wood
40-49 Men
- Jason Ekinaka
- Sean Morrison
- Scott Cooper
40-49 Women
- Yvonne Hall
- Vicki Reale
- Lisa McLaughlin
50-59 Men
- Rick Schumacher
- Eric Anderson
- John Clinkinbeard
50-59 Women
- Karen Connolly
- Valerie Ells
- Linda Hague
60-69 Men
- Kim McDonald
- Mike Dollar
- Stan Gertler
10K Paddle
Prone Stock 19-39 Men
- Christopher Meinhold
- Dane Gudauskas
- Tanner Gudauskas
Prone Stock 19-39 Women
- Christina Boring
Prone UL 19-39 Men
- Chris Sears
Prone UL 50+ Men
- Wes Stone
- Bob Feinberg
Prone Stock 50+ Men
- James Brown
SUP 12’6” 18U Men
- Nick Scheel
- Tyler Bashor
- Haakon Hoyer-Nielsen
SUP 12’6” 18U Women
- Shae Foudy
- Lexi Alston
- Erika Benitez
SUP 12’6” 19-39 Men
- Giorgio Gomez
- Manuel Rodriguez-Ligonio
- John Gabriel
SUP 12’6” 19-39 Women
- Candice Appleby
SUP 12’6” 40-49 Men
- Anthony Vela
- Mick Vollmer
SUP 12’6” 50+ Women
- Kristin Thomas
SUP 14’ 19-39 Men
- Daniel Russell
- Jedd Hasay
- Yann Lavletta
SUP 14’ 40-49 Men
- Chance Fielder
- David Meyler
- Rob Rojas
SUP 14’ 50+ Men
- Byron Kurt
- Rich D’Souza
- John Bouvland
SUP Surfboard 50+ Men
- Larry Moore
Surfski 19-39 Women
- Sara Kennedy
One-Mile Ocean Swim
1-14 Boys
- Timo Paisley
- Wyatt Miller
- Jonas Hawbecker
1-14 Girls
- Stella Copeland
- Anna Dillbeck
- Sydney Brouwer
15-19 Men
- Kian Brouwer
- Carson Williams
- Tommy Elliot
15-19 Women
- Jessica Lambert
- Kirsta Krontz
- Shannon Derthick
20-29 Men
- Spenser Goodman
- Ryan Makuta
- Christopher Meinhold
20-29 Women
- Danielle Wong
- Sage Pfeiffer
- Brittany Vocke
30-39 Men
- Ryan Bullock
- Ethan Senturia
- Jeff Kennedy
30-39 Women
- Scotti Shafer
- Allison Hilgers
- Laura Spears
40-49 Men
- Rob Rojas
- Jason Ekinaka
- Anthony Vela
40-49 Women
- Mikel Glavinovich
- Barbara Lastelic
- Tiffany Scanlon
50-59 Men
- Dean Nicolls
- Rick Schumacher
- Bryan Buck
50-59 Women
- Barbara Goodwin
- Ann Finley
- Linda Simons
60-69 Men
- Dan Leonard
- Greg Mortimer
- Duff Murphy
70-99 Men
- Mike Freshley
- Dennis Holderman
Run-Swim-Run
1-14 Girls
- Savannah Mellott
- Alex Higginson
- Sydney Brouwer
1-14 Boys
- Jonas Hawbecker
- Wyatt Merchant
- Calum Connolly-Lindermann
15-19 Women
- Megan Quintilone
15-19 Men
- Kian Brouwer
- Chad Biggs
- Jeffrey Igarashi
20-29 Women
- Karina Vint
- Kailey Makuta
- Nikki Spurgeon
20-29 Men
- Ryan Makuta
- Toby Contarsy
- Bobby K
30-39 Men
- Ryan Bullock
40-49 Women
- Yvonne Hall
- Paige Kobayaski
- Lisa McLaughlin
40-49 Men
- Anthony Vela
- Kevin Shinnick
- Mike Chang
50-59 Women
- Ann Finley 2.Linda Simons
- Nancie Rodriguez
50-59 Men
- David Bidwell
- Chris Cosner
- Gaylord Shilling
60+ Men
- Duff Murphy
- Dennis Holderman
SUP Surfing Championships
Men’s 39U
- Giorgio Gomez
- Anthony Maltese
- Jedd Hasay
Men’s 40+
- Dave Boehne
- Drew Brophy
- Byron Kurt
Women’s Open
- Izzi Gomez
- Shae Foudy
- Candice Appleby
Grom’s Rule Surf Contest
Boys 10U
- Alex Guild
- Jett Rockets Prefontaine
- Azure Trujillo
Girls 12U
- Sawyer Lindblad
- Carolyn Sachse
- Resse Hartnett
Boys 11-14
- Hagan Johnson
- Myles Biggs
- Noah Brown
Fishing Derby
12U
Kai Long (11” Bonito); Kate Schlueter (5 1/2” Perch)
13+ Game Fish
Ellie Bosse (15” Croaker); Nate Iwakoshi (14 1/4” Corbina)
Shark/Bat Ray
Henry Long (8” Stingray)
Sand Sculpting
Castles and Things
- Arizona Sand Blast (Jungle Beach)
- Sand & Deliver (Cracking Under Pressure)
- Maher Family (Pokémon Mountain)
Creatures
- Julio Pagan & Crew (The Kraken)
- Dory Finds San Clemente
- Three engineers, an archeologist and salesman (The Nautilus)
Open
- Nevada Sand Company (Mount Rushmore)
- Love Power Company-Katherine Clark (Wave of Love)
- Cove Guides (World Peace)
Family
- Alessandro Sand Sculptures (Main Squeeze)
- Nagel family (Blue Lives Matter)
- Allesandro-Kids (Gotta Catch ‘em All)
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