Joe Surf: Gunter earns first pro victory on WSL Men’s Junior Tour
Newport Beach’s Tyler Gunter earned his first professional victory on the World Surf League’s (WSL) Men’s Junior Tour a couple weeks ago when he won the RVCA Pro Junior at 56th Street in Newport.
It certainly helped that the contest was held at his homebreak in Newport, but it doesn’t lessen the significance of his win. He jumped six spots to No. 5 on the WSL’s Junior Tour standings (North American region).
Gunter won a hotly contested final against Nolan Rapoza (Long Beach), Jake Marshall (Encinitas) and Micky Clarke.
“This is the best day of my life, that was so insane and can’t believe it right now,” Gunter, 16, told worldsurfleague.com. “After I made it through the semis I didn’t even care, I was so pumped with the waves just firing. This is my favorite type of Newport and I surf it like this a lot so I was definitely stoked to know what waves to pick that would let me get a score on.
“It felt good to get those two turns to really get my final started, and once I got that everything just seemed to get better and better. I just felt like I couldn’t fall.”
The win improved Gunter’s chances of qualifying for the World Junior Championship in Australia in January. He’ll need a good showing at the final Junior Tour event in Barbados starting Nov. 10, needing to finish the schedule ranked in the top four (he’s currently No. 5).
“After the second or third event I didn’t think I’d have a chance at making it into Worlds this year with a bunch of quarterfinal finishes,” Gunter said. “Now it looks like I might have a shot, so hopefully go into Barbados and do the same thing. I don’t want to get too excited, knowing I need another great result, but it’s really cool to be in the running for that, and I’d love a chance to get in there.”
No surf for you
Planning to surf in Huntington Beach this weekend? Good luck.
The Breitling Huntington Beach Airshow will take place over the city’s coastline this weekend, starting with a practice session Friday and shows on Saturday and Sunday.
I saw the practice flyover they had in February and have no doubt it’s going to be a great show. But if you want to watch from the water on your board in between sets, you might find yourself dealing with the U.S. Coast Guard.
From noon to 4 p.m. each day, a section of the water will be closed beyond getting past waist-deep water. Though it’s not clear how far the closed area will stretch. Here is what the airs how’s website said about it:
“During the hours of 12PM to 4PM the airshow will institute what is called a sterile aerobatic box in the water which will be marked with buoys and US Coast Guard patrolling as well as lifeguards on jet skis to monitor the area. Swimmers, surfers and boogie boarders should expect to only be able to swim in waist deep water during these times.”
The good news is that the waves are usually better in the morning early anyway, so go early, go eat, then enjoy the show.
Triple Crown of Retro
The Triple Crown of Retro surf series concluded Saturday with the HB ‘80s contest held at Golden West Street in Huntington Beach and sponsored by Quiksilver and 17th Street Boardshop.
Required to used boards made in the 1980s, surfers tore it up in 4-5 foot waves, Billy Hopkins winning the open division.
More than 60 surfers competed in the open division, with Greg Eisele (second place), Ryan Turner (third), Jeff Deffenbaugh (fourth), Brandon Tipton (fifth) and Casey Wheat (sixth) joining Hopkins in the final heat.
Justin Hugron didn’t reach the final, but he did well enough to hold onto the overall points lead, winning the three-event contest. Hugron won the Surfside ‘70s contest, while Shane Jones won the Jammin’ at the Jetty ‘60s contest.
The event was so popular, they also held a groms division (14 and under) and a seniors division (55 and older).
Ben Benson won the groms division — he scored a perfect 10 on one of his waves — and he was joined in the final heat by Matthew Blackburn (second place), Luke Guinaldo (third), Kolby Aipa (fourth), Cade Haakenson (fifth) and Curren Lizares (sixth).
Courtney and Kanoa update
Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue lost in the semifinals to Hawaii’s Carissa Moore in the Roxy Pro France last week, allowing Australia’s Tyler Wright to clinch the 2016 World Surf League women’s world championship.
Conlogue, who finished second in the world last year behind Moore, remains in second place with one contest left in the season — the Maui Women’s Pro starting Nov. 23.
The men are currently competing in the MEO Rip Curl Pro in Portugal, the second-to-last contest on the 11-contest World Championship Tour (WCT). Hawaii’s John John Florence entered the contest holding the No. 1 ranking.
Huntington Beach’s Kanoa Igarashi, who began the contest ranked No. 22 in the world, took third in his three-man Round 1 heat against Jordy Smith and Jeremy Flores. That set him up for a Round 2 elimination heat against Hawaii’s Keanu Asing.
Igarashi needs a good showing in the final two contests to requalify for next year’s WCT. In order to requalify, a surfer needs to finish ranked in the top 22 in the WCT rankings, or in the top 10 in the Qualifying Series (QS) rankings. Igarashi is currently ranked No. 8 in the QS.
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JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.