SURFING / BODY GLOVE CUP : Pribram Wins Twice to Keep Comeback on Track

Laguna Beach’s James Pribram has been on the Bud Pro Surfing tour three years, but he’s feeling a little bit like a rookie this season.

Pribram, competing in only his second event this year, won his first- and second-round heats Wednesday at the $22,000 Body Glove Cup at Huntington State Beach.

Pribram is back on the tour full time after missing 3 1/2 months last summer because of torn knee ligaments he sustained while skimboarding. He missed the early part of this season because he was attending classes at Irvine Valley College.

“I was kind of burned out on surfing and I went back to school,” Pribram said. “I missed the Imperial Beach contest last week because of finals. But I plan on competing on the tour the rest of the summer and concentrating more on surfing.”

Competition resumes at 9 a.m. today with the final four second-round heats, followed by the third-round heats. Top-seeded surfers such as Mike Parsons, Dino Andino, Matt Archbold, Richie Collins, Shane Beschen and Jeff Booth won’t compete until the main event second round, scheduled for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Results

Second round

(Top two advance to third round)

Heat 1--1. Rick Massie, 2. Richard Lovett; Heat 2--1. Strider Wasilewski, 2. Evan Slater; Heat 3--1. Chris Drummy, 2. Takeyuki Wakita; Heat 4--1. Jun Jo, 2. Jason Gantz; Heat 5--1. Josh Baker, 2. Daniel Del Castillo; Heat 6--1. Lake Burgess, 2. Nathan Acker; Heat 7--1. Renan Rocha, 2. Scott Desiderio; Heat 8--1. Paul Reinecke, 2. Troy Eckert; Heat 9--1. James Pribram, 2. Seth Elmer; Heat 10--1. Craig Bechtloff, 2. Mike Miller; Heat 11--1. Tim Reardon, 2. Cordell Miller; Heat 12--1. Ryan Ragan, 2. Todd Bousman.