Bragging Rights:

The judges tower

As daylight broke on the final day of the 2006 NSSA Nationals at Lowers, a clean, peaky swell filtered in to the lineup, creating perfectly contestable conditions for the final rounds. Hordes of parents, frothing groms covered in zinc, and curious onlookers made their way down to the beach to watch the best juniors in the U.S. fight it out for this years championships.

Open Men's Governor's Cup winner Kekoa Cazimero

This is an event steeped in tradition, where bragging rights last lifetimes, and the top competitors often take their surfing to the highest level in the world. Andy Irons and Fred Patacchia have both won events here in years past, along with a host of other champions and notable surfers.

This year the event played host to a hot crop of young surfers, showing a competitive maturity in the water well beyond their years. From the frothing mini-groms who dropped in effortlessly to reeling Trestles when most ten-year-olds would be playing in the sand by the shorebreak, to the absolute rippers in the open competitions who looked like they could steal a heat or two on the WCT, there is no doubt these are some of the hottest surfers in the world today.

The open men’s final was a true nail-biter as each competitor scrambled for waves in the stacked heat. Casey Brown appeared to be running away with it when he was called for an interference at a critical time, opening the door for an in-form Kekoa Cazimero to take over. Barely surpassing Dusty Payne half a point, Kekoa was lifted on the shoulders of his peers, raising his hands in victory exclaiming “Man, I’m stoked.” The greatest part of the open men’s heat was that each competitor looked as though they could have won the event if they were on their game. It was exciting as hell to watch.

The beach was packed full of onlookers doing their best to stay cool in the sweltering heat

Carissa Moore reinforced her level of talent, taking away with the open women’s title for the third year in a row. Super-grom Koa Smith was a standout in the min-grom division, putting on a performance well beyond his years, while Dillon Perillo ripped his way to an open juniors title.

The event saw plenty of drama, fun, heartbreak and triumph as the young competitors put their best effort into the contest. With champions crowned this will surely be an event to remember for many years to come.

Lower Trestles from above

OPEN MENS FINAL 1. KEKOA CAZIMERO 13.50 2. DUSTY PAYNE 13.00 3. CASEY BROWN 12.63 4. GRANGER LARSEN 11.50 5. CLAY MARZO 7.88 6. TANNER GADAUSKAS 6.38

OPEN WOMENS FINALS 1. CARISSA MOORE 15.00 2. MALIA MANUEL 12.00 3. SAGE ERICKSON 10.75 4. COCO HO 10.50 5. COURTNEY CONLOGUE 9.26 6. LANI HUNTER 7.25

OPEN BOYS FINAL 1. CONNER COFFIN 14.75 2. EZEKIAL LAU 12.00 3. KOLOHE ANDINO 9.75 4. DAVID BLAND 9.25 5. LUKE DAVIS 6.75 6. KEANU ASING 5.50

OPEN MINI GROM 1. KOA SMITH 13.25 2. LAHIKOILA MINAMISHIN 12.00 3. TAYLOR CLARK 9.00 4. KALANI DAVID 8.75 5. LUKE HITCHCOCK 8.25 6. KAOLI KAHOKULA 6.00

OPEN JUNIORS 1. DILLON PERILLO 13.50 2. ALEX SMITH 11.00 3. THOMAS CLARK 11.00 4. DEGE O’CONNELL 10.00 5. GRANGER LARSON 7.75 6. JON JOHN FLORENCE 7.00

OPEN LONGBOARD 1. CHRISTIAN WACH 17.75 2. JUSTIN QUINTAL 17.50 3. TROY MOTHERSHEAD 12.50 4. CHRISTIAN CLARK 10.25 5. KEVIN OSBORNE 9.00 6. CHASE STAVRON 8.00

AIRSHOW 1. BLAKE JONES

Plenty of spectators came to check out the contest

EXPLORER WOMENS 1. PAIGE ALMS 12.75 2. CARISSA MOORE 12.25 3. LANI HUNTER 6.75 4. ALANA BLANCHARD 5.25 5. BETHANY HAMILTON 5.00 6. SAGE ERICKSON 4.50

EXPLORER MENS 1. DUSTY PAYNE 15.50 2. CHAS CHIDESTER 15.00 3. NATHAN REX 14.00 4. KAI BARGER 12.75 5. TORREY MEISTER 12.50 6. CASEY BROWN 12.25

EXPLORER GIRLS 1. CARISSA MOORE 14.25 2. COCO HO 12.75 3. MALIA MANUEL 12.25 4. ASHLEY HUNTER 9.75 5. ERIKA STEINER 8.00 6. KAILEE KREBS 6.00

EXPLORER JUNIOR 1. GRANGER LARSON 15.00 2. DUSTY PAYNE 14.75 3. ERIC GEISELMAN 13.75 4. TONINO BENSON 8.50 5. BLAKE JONES 5.00 6. KEKOA CAZIMERO 5.00

EXPLORER BOYS 1. KOLOHE ANDINO 14.50 2. KIRON JABOUR 12.75 3. EVAN GEISELMAN 12.75 4. DANE ZAUN 12.25 5. EZEKIAL LAU 11.75 6. KOKORO TOMATSURI 7.50

EXPLORER MENEHUENE 1. KOLOHE ANDINO 14.25 2. EVAN GEISELMAN 12.75 3. EZEKIAL LAU 10.25 4. DAVID BRAND 9.75 5. LUKE DAVIS 8.25 6. CONNER COFFIN 8.00

EXPLORER MASTERS 1. MICAH PITTS 16.50 2. ANDY NAKAGAWA 11.50 3. CHRISTIAN BUDROE 11.25 4. YUFU PENROSE 11.25 5. JON MOELLENDICK 9.50 6. ENICH HARRIS 7.25

EXPLORER LONGBOARD 1. TROY MOTHERSHEAD 15.25 2. CHRISTIAN CLARK 15.25 3. KEVIN OSBORNE 14.75 4. TONY SILVAGNI 14.75 5. SCOTT BRANDENBURG 10.25 6. JUSTIN QUINTAL 9.25

EXPLORER SENIORS 1. MIKE LAMM 12.50 2. MIKE GILLARD 11.25 3. CRAIG MACIA 10.25 4. TERRY GILLARD 9.50 5. BRIAN SURRATT 7.50 6. RANDY CUTSHALL 6.25

EXPLORER SUPER-SENIORS 1. MIKE LAMM 14.75 2. TIM SENNEFF 10.50 3. DAVID WINSLOW 9.25 4. RANDY FOX 9.25 5. DALE BAKER 8.00 6. BILL MACLEOD 6.50