SURFING SALT CREEK BEACH PRO-AM : Shane Stoneman Avoids Rocks as He Rolls Into Fourth Round

Shane Stoneman has nicknamed his surfboard “Old Faithful,” and both have held up through some rocky moments.

Stoneman, of San Juan Capistrano, carved through the waves and slalomed through several rocks near the shore to win his third-round heat Thursday at the Laguna Sportswear pro-am surfing competition at Salt Creek Beach.

Thursday’s small wave conditions forced the surfers near the rocks in hopes of catching a sizable break.

“Old Faithful held up good,” Stoneman said of his board. “With all the kelp in the water, you can’t wear a leash, and if you fall off, your board is headed right for the rocks.

“There were a couple of waves where the rocks would pop right up when you were doing a move.”

Stoneman, a senior at Capistrano Valley High School, is used to the tough conditions at Salt Creek. He and the Capistrano Valley surf team work out there every day.

“I guess I have a bit of a homecourt advantage,” he said.

Stoneman, 17, used that advantage and turned in his highest score of the day on his final wave.

“Luckily, I got a good last wave,” he said. “I was pretty stressed out before that.”

The wave pushed Stoneman ahead of second-place finisher Kasey Curtis of San Juan Capistrano, who also advanced to the fourth round. Stoneman and Curtis eliminated Brian McNulty of San Clemente, once a regular on the Assn. of Surfing Professionals world tour.

“I really respect Brian’s surfing,” Stoneman said. “He’s one of the best around. I feel really good about this.”

McNulty, 25, said Stoneman and Curtis are two of the rising young stars on the Professional Surfing Assn. of America tour.

“I’ve seen Shane surfing around San Clemente a lot,” McNulty said. “He’s got a good future in this.”

While Stoneman and his board avoided the rocks, others weren’t so lucky. David Giddings of Corona del Mar advanced through his third-round heat by finishing second to Nick Brown, but both surfers paid the price for success.

Giddings, Brown and Dylan Christensen of Laguna Niguel, who finished third, all damaged the fins on their boards while surfing through the rocks.

“I broke the (left-rear) fin on my board with five minutes left in the heat,” Giddings said. “I had to run in and borrow one from a guy.”

Jason Senn of Capistrano Beach, who finished fourth, was the only surfer in the heat who avoided a damaged board.

Mr. Versatility: From 30-foot waves to one-footers, Brock Little of Haleiwa, Hawaii, can do it all.

Little, who finished second in a big-wave riding contest in Hawaii in February, won his third-round heat Thursday in one-foot conditions.

Surfing Notes

Several Orange County surfers were eliminated in the third round Thursday, including Nathan Fletcher of San Clemente, Cordell Miller of Laguna Hills, David Rose of Irvine, Jason Senn of Capistrano Beach, Dylan Christensen of Laguna Niguel, Tim Stamps of Seal Beach, Robbie Todd of Newport Beach and Josh Baxter of San Clemente.

Competition begins at 7:30 a.m. today with the fourth round of the surfing competition. The first round of the bodyboarding division starts at 10:20 a.m., followed by the fifth round of surfing at 1 p.m. Those scheduled to compete in the fourth round include Chris Billy of Dana Point, Matt Archbold of San Clemente, Chris Frohoff of Redondo Beach, Hans Hagen of Laguna Beach and Scott Farnsworth of Huntington Beach.

Results

Round 3

(Top two qualify for today’s fourth round)

Heat 1--Hans Hagen (Laguna Beach), Joey Zintel (Huntington Beach). Heat 2--Ross Williams (Haleiwa, Hawaii), Craig Bechtloff (Huntington Beach). Heat 3--Mike Cruickshank (Costa Mesa), Christian Fletcher (San Clemente). Heat 4--David Eggers (San Diego), Michael Ho (Waimanalo, Hawaii). Heat 5--James Gaspar (Hawaii), Ryan Keenan (Huntington Beach). Heat 6--Larry Keast (Vista), Darren Tatsuno (Honolulu). Heat 7--Sean Starn (Honolulu), Laka Burgess (Huntington Beach). Heat 8--Jason Olyer, Neil Bern. Heat 9--Nick Brown, David Giddings (Corona del Mar). Heat 10--Brock Little (Haleiwa, Hawaii), Morgan Bonan (Sherman Oaks). Heat 11--Rick Irons (Ocean Beach), Takeyuki Wakita (Fujisawa, Japan). Heat 12--Tony Foster (Cayucas), John Sawvell (Oxnard). Heat 13--Rainos Hayes (Sunset Beach, Hawaii), Matt Coleman (Dana Point). Heat 14--Chuy Reyna (Oceanside), Taylor Knox (Carlsbad). Heat 15--Chris Menzie (San Diego), Kirk Tice (Huntington Beach). Heat 16--Shane Stoneman (San Juan Capistrano), Kasey Curtis (San Juan Capistrano).