NSSA State Championships March 6-8 | NSSA

NSSA State Championships March 6-8

Tuesday, 03 March 2009

MARCH 6-8, 2009
CHURCH, SAN ONOFRE STATE PARK

UC SAN DIEGO'S MARTY WEINSTEIN.

(Huntington Beach, Ca – March 1, 2009) - Fans of team surfing wait with anticipation every year for the tradition and the excitement that make up the NSSA’s version of March Madness – the Interscholastic State Championships. College, High School and Middle School teams will battle for State titles March 6-8 at Church beach in the pristine San Onofre State Park near San Clemente. Each year, the top teams in California will bring in their best squads vying for prestigious State titles and most importantly earn a berth in the Big Show - The NSSA National Interscholastic Championships which will be held June 16-19 at Salt Creek in Dana Point.

Anything can happen in team surfing which is why this is by far one of the most fun contests of the year! A top ranked team might be expected to overwhelm a lower seed and cruise to a large margin conquest, but it may narrowly escape with a close victory or get beat by a sleeper. At the State Championships, team members will get a chance to gauge their capabilities against their west coast rivals and likely National Championship contenders. And this year should be more of a thriller as many teams have undergone roster changes from last year due to graduation. The College Championships will kick off the competition on Friday, March 6. The High School Championships will begin on March 7 and continue on March 8 and the Middle Schools will compete on March 8. The College, High School and Middle School State Championship finals will be held on March 8. All teams are comprised of 6 male, 2 female and 1 longboard surfer.

New for 2009, the NSSA implemented Junior Varsity team competition to the High School Championships. The Varsity and Junior Varsity competition are two distinct and separate categories at the championships. Having both Varsity and Junior Varsity teams will provide an appropriate level of competition for those players with a greater level of skill, as well as for those who are new to the sport or whose skill levels are more suited to Junior Varsity competition. Each High School will have the opportunity to field both a Varsity and Junior Varsity team in separate categories at the State Championships.

In the College Championships, number one seed Point Loma has done a good job of rebuilding their squad from last year finishing at the top of the conference ladder in the 2008/09 season. The two-time National Champions (1989, 1999) posted one victory, two seconds and despite a disappointing sixth place finish to close out the regular season, they are still the team to beat. No. 2 seed and two-time National Champion Mira Costa is a strong contender with 2008 National Collegiate Men’s champion Nick Olsen who returned to the squad this season. Cal State San Marcos comes into the postseason ranked No. 3 and are still looking for their first championship title. No. 4 seed SDSU was edged out for both the State and National titles by UCSB in 2008 so they will be hungry for the win this year. No. 5 ranked UCSD could make a run for the title with newly crowned Conference Men’s Champion Marty Weinstein who nailed two victories during the regular season. 11-time National Champion UCSB were State and National Champions in 2008 but the team has endured a challenging year due to graduation losses. The bright spot for the Gauchos this season has been Lipoa Kahaleuahi, who went undefeated in the College Women’s division.

HUNTINGTON BEACH'S CHRISTIAN SAENZ.

At the High School level, teams have been in a leap frog cycle for the past few years with not one team dominant at the top. Top seeded Carlsbad placed second at last year’s State titles to Huntington Beach, but trounced on all their west coast opponents at the 2008 National Championships before placing second in an overtime tie-breaker with Hawaii’s Elite Element Academy. Southwest Open Men’s No. 3 ranked Dominic DiPietro will head up the Lancer squad, who are still title worthy despite losing a major chunk of their lineup to graduation. A real legitimate sleeper could be the Edison High School Chargers who stunned cross-town rival Huntington Beach this year by winning the Sunset League Championships. But you can never count out HB whose teams have built the greatest legacy in NSSA history winning 17 National Championship titles. With Southwest Open Men’s No. 1 ranked Christian Saenz leading the squad, the Oilers could once again take control at Church. HB’s team also boasts strong forces in Colton Larson and Shayne Nelson who are both occupying the top of the Southwest Conference Explorer rankings in the Men’s and Juniors respectively. Since 1999 no high school team has had a better winning percentage than San Clemente, whose teams have earned seven State titles and eight National titles during that span. Going in as the No. 5 seed, the Tritons will be lead by Southwest Open Men’s No. 2 ranked Riley Metcalf and defending State High School Men’s Champion Doug Van Mierlo. San Clemente will aspire to regain their place at the top after a fourth place finish at State and a sixth place at the Nationals in 2008. The team gained some fresh talent on their roster this year including freshman Ian Crane who won back-to-back Middle School Boys State crowns in 2007 and 2008. No. 3 ranked San Dieguito and No. 4 ranked Carpinteria could heat up and make a strong title bid. Newport Harbor could be the hot team of the event with a solid lineup that includes defending State High School Women’s Champion Kaleigh Gilchrist.

Shorecliffs has been the top dog at the Middle School level for the past three years. They have been destroying their opponents but lost both National Champion Kolohe Andino and State Champion Ian Crane this year. They still have a talented squad which includes Breyden Taylor, Trevor Thornton and Wyatt Brady, all who made the State finals in 2008. You can’t overlook former National Champions Dwyer and Sowers who are always potential challengers. Dwyer placed third at the 2008 Nationals and have an ace-in-the-hole with sixth grader Kanoa Igarashi joining the squad this year. No. 3 ranked Marco Forster could make some noise with 2008 National Middle School Longboard Champion Scott Weinhardt competing in both the Longboard and Boys shortboard divisions. Carpinteria has some fire power in Parker Coffin who was runner-up at last year’s State titles and is stepping up his game in both Southwest and Gold Coast competition this season.

In addition to title sponsor No Fear, the NSSA Interscholastic State Championships is proud to have support from Nike 6.0, Huntington Surf and Sport, Surfing Magazine, WaveWatch, Sex Wax, No Fear Energy Drink. The NSSA is a member of Surfing America, the ISA-recognized National Governing Body for Surfing in the United States.

The NSSA Interscholastic State Championships is the first of seven events in the 2009 NSSA Championship Series presented by No Fear. The 2009 Championship Series events include the Interscholastic State Championships at Church, the Hawaii Championships at Kewalo Basin, HI March 21-26; the East Coast Championships at Sebastian Inlet, FL April 16-19; the NSSA Jr. Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA April 1; the West Coast Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, CA May 13-17; the NSSA National Championships at Salt Creek and Lower Trestles, CA June 17-27; the Northeast High School Championships at Ocean City, NJ October 19.

A COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE 2009 INTERSCHOLASTIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE ON THE NSSA WEBSITE WWW.NSSA.ORG: http://www.nssa.org/newsmanager/templates/NSSAHeatTimes.aspx?articleid=211&zoneid=7

COLLEGE LINEUP (in ranking order)