Matson outduels Australian Tancred to win junior men’s crown

The U.S. Open of Surfing junior men’s and women’s competition reached its pinnacle on Saturday in Huntington Beach, and in the end, Kade Matson of San Clemente won the junior men’s final with a score of 15.17, only needing three rides.

Caleb Tancred representing Australia finished second with a 14.90.

Caitlin Simmers of Oceanside won the junior women’s competition with 17.23 while Alyssa Spencer finished second with 15.80. On Simmers’ last wave, which wound up being the last one of the competition, she scored an 8.53, giving her the win.

“I’m so psyched right now,” Matson said during the trophy ceremony. “This is the best day of my life by far. I was injured and weak before this happened, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to compete, so I can’t believe it.”

Matson started off by scoring a 2.00 in his first wave in the heat, but followed that in an emphatic way, scoring a 9.00 on his second wave. That fired up Matson so much that he kicked the water.

“I knew that if I started off big, I knew I could finish strong and I just got my back up right after that and just tried to hold on for as long as I could. It [waiting while others ride] was nerve-racking, but I’m stoked I got it,” Matson said.

Matson scored a 6.17 on his third wave, but that didn’t deter Tancred.

Tancred’s highest scores included a 6.97 and a 7.93, but he knew he needed more in order to beat Matson. On his last wave, the last one of the event, Tancred needed a 7.25 or higher in order to win the event, but only scored a 5.63, giving Matson the victory.

Matson was humble in his victory, as he respected his fellow competitors, which included Jett Schilling, another San Clemente local.

“We’re all really good friends, but we all really want to beat each other. It’s a healthy rivalry we have and everyone in this contest is gnarly and there’s no easy heats,” Matson said.

Schilling finished fourth, scoring a 9.53, with his highs being a 5.00 and a 4.53. Joh Azuchi representing Japan finished third, scoring an 11.44, with his highs being a 7.17 and 4.27.

Junior Women’s Final

Simmers won the junior women’s competition after her last wave helped her clinch the victory. Despite finishing second, Spencer was happy that she got to compete and likes how final waves help clinch heats.

“That [the final wave that clinched the heat] was really exciting. I love when that happens. I mean, not the best thing that happens for me, but it always makes it [the competition] so exciting when it comes down to the last second,” Spencer said.

Spencer started the event strong, scoring a 9.00 on her first wave. Her second-highest wave turned out to be a 6.80, giving her a total score of 15.80 and the lead throughout most of the competition.

Simmers opened with wave scores of 6.17 and 4.17 but scored an 8.70 on her third wave. Knowing that she needed a 7.11 or higher in order to win the event, Simmers saved her best wave for last, scoring an 8.53 and clinching the win in thrilling fashion.

“This is probably the biggest win in my life. Everyone [the competition] is like the best in the world,” Simmers said.

Kirra Pinkerton, another San Clemente local, finished third in the event with a 14.70, with highs of 7.83 and 6.87. Keala Tomoda-Bannert, representing Hawaii, finished fourth with a 12.47, with highs of 5.47 and 7.00.

Women’s Q’s (Round 4)

Caroline Marks of Melbourne Beach, Fla., won her heat in the fourth round of the women’s qualifiers series event, with a score of 11.53, edging Spencer, who finished with a 10.93.

Courtney Conlogue of Santa Ana scored the highest of all the competitors, with a 14.00 to defeat Zahli Kelly representing Australia, who scored a 9.83, in the heat.

Brisa Hennessey of Matapalo, Costa Rica, edged Isabella Nichols representing Australia 11.54-11.24 in the third heat. Sally Fitzgibbons edged Keely Andrew in a battle of two Australians, winning heat four 12.60-12.50.

Tatiana Weston Webb representing Brazil beat Mahina Maeda representing Japan 11.67-10.87 in heat five. In heat six, Bronte Macaulay of Australia beat fellow Australian Stephanie Gilmore 12.17-11.30.

Sage Erickson of Ojai beat Nikki Van Dijk of Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia 12.50-11.96 in heat seven. Malia Manuel of Wailua, Kauai, Hawaii edged Tessa Thyssen of France 11.40-11.17 in heat eight.