Mar 29, 2022
Ty Simpson-Kane of Kamehameha Schools Maui floats off the end section in winning the boys No. 1 final at the Maui Interscholastic League surf contest Saturday at D.T. Fleming Beach. Dayanidhi photos
Special to The Maui News
King Kekaulike and Baldwin high schools captured the boys and girls team titles, respectively, at the Maui Interscholastic League surf contest Saturday, the league’s first meet in over two years.
The contest at D.T. Fleming Beach drew 10 schools competing in shoulder-high conditions. The last MIL surf meet was at Kahului Harbor on Feb. 29, 2020.
The boys team title wasn’t decided until the last heat of the day, the boys No. 4 final. King Kekaulike had 44 points, Seabury Hall 41 and Maui Prep 40 going into the last 20-minute heat.
Na Alii’s Teiva Keomaniboth got off to a quick start, posting the two highest scores of the heat on his opening two rides. The soft-spoken freshman said he felt no pressure before his finals heat.
Chrislyn Simpson-Kane of King Kekaulike makes a backside bottom turn in claiming the girls No. 1 division Saturday at D.T. Fleming Beach.
“I was just going to do my best,” Keomaniboth said. “Don’t go for the small ones like I did my first heat, just do carves and hit the end section.”
His win capped a strong showing for the King Kekaulike boys. Cassius Berzolla won at No. 2, Stryder Olsen was second at No. 5, while Roran Mullen, Otis Buckingham, and Oscar Hudson were third in No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
“After two years of being out of the water from COVID, it’s great to have everybody back,” Na Alii head coach Scott Schellhammer said. “We have a really deep roster. I think any of them could go one or two. It’s hard to pick the order, but I think they’re all great sportsmen and they were challenged by their heats.”
Schellhammer, a Na Alii chemistry, marine and environmental science teacher added, “Kudos to the officials, I think the new format was challenging and equitable for everyone. I was really impressed with the level of surfing.”
For the first time, schools have six surfers who are ranked No. 1 through No. 6 by their coaches. Each school’s No. 1 surfer competes against other schools’ No. 1 surfers, and so on down the line. Previously, all surfers were thrown into one open division regardless of ability.
Hana’s Barron Hayes throws some spray on a set-up turn in winning the boys No. 3 final Saturday.
Baldwin had the only full girls team and easily claimed the girls title.
“Once we knew of the new format, we tried to make a big effort to bring in as many girls as we could,” Baldwin coach Mike Balangitao said. “We’re pretty psyched, especially because we have three seniors that kind of came to fruition for the time they put in, especially with the years off from COVID.”
Baldwin seniors Anna Fosbinder, Liana Kaaihue and Jenna Boggs placed first at No. 4, first at No. 5 and fourth at No. 3, respectively. Rounding out the Bears’ scoring were Ava Ono (first at No. 6), Graye Smith (third at No. 1) and Maile Kaaihue (fourth at No. 3).
A pair of siblings claimed the No. 1 titles. Ty Simpson-Kane, a Kamehameha Maui senior, won a stacked heat to win the boys while younger sister Chrislyn, a freshman competing for King Kekaulike, claimed the girls.
Ty Simpson-Kane had a different game plan in the final.
No. 2 girls winner Ellie Brown of King Kekaulike kicks out at the end of a ride.
“My strategy was kind of the reverse of my first heat,” he said. “I noticed that the tide was a little bit higher and the waves kind of shifted from a little bit wider to more up the reef. Decided to try and stick out the upper reef section and see if I could get most of my scores from up there.”
While most of the contest competitors were going right, Simpson-Kane had the two highest scoring waves surfing left. His 6.93 ride was a long reeling left that ran up the reef and allowed him to do four hard back-side turns. His final wave, a 6.80, was a racy left that he punctuated with a reverse 360.
For Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, who takes home school classes from Hawaii Technology Academy, it was her first MIL experience.
“I get to interact with other kids. Being at home, it’s nice sometimes, but you miss your friends and it allows me to make more friends,” she said. “It was super fun today, I had a blast. I get to cheer on my teammates, I really like that.”
Simpson-Kane, who was third in the U14 girls division at the 2021 National Scholastic Surfing Association nationals, dominated her final with the three highest scores of the heat.
Na Alii’s Cassius Berzolla cracks the lip in winning at boys No. 2.
“I was kind of all over the place in the final, just searching for waves, trying to stay busy,” she said “I’ve never surfed here before. I was just trying to figure it out. I got lucky, waves were just coming to me.”
The next MIL surf meet is scheduled for April 9 at Koki Beach in Hana.
*****
MIL Surfing
Saturday’s Results
Maui High’s Lily Ahrnsbrak, girls No. 3 winner, does a backside snap.
At D.T. Fleming Beach
Team–1. King Kekaulike 55, 2. Maui Prep 49, 3. Seabury Hall 47, 4. Baldwin 38, 5. Hana 28, t6. Lahainaluna 21, t6. Kamehameha Maui 21, 8. Maui High 10, 9. Haleakala Waldorf 9, 10. Kihei Charter 8.
No. 1–1. Ty Simpson-Kane, Kamehameha Maui; 2. Taj Newton, Hana; 3. Roran Mullen, King Kekaulike; 4. Alijah Bertelmann, Baldwin; 5. Niko Banto, Maui Prep.
No. 2–1. Cassius Berzolla, King Kekaulike; 2. Kannon White, Seabury Hall; 3. Kanoa Kaiwi, Hana; 4. Ezra Offergeld, Maui Prep; 5. Landon Wong, Baldwin.
No. 3–1. Barron Hanes, Hana; 2. Dylan Stolley, Seabury Hall; 3. Otis Buckingham, King Kekaulike; 4. Koenig Biegel, Maui Prep; 5. Noah Edlao, Baldwin.
No. 4–1. Teiva Keomaniboth, King Kekaulike; 2. Noah Caiserman, Maui Prep; 3. Deegan Silva, Maui High; 4. Jake McGill, Lahainaluna; 5. Taj Guidroz, Seabury Hall.
No. 5–1. Cameron Burns, Maui Prep; 2. Stryder Olsen, King Kekaulike; 3. Sage Ryden, Seabury Hall; 4. Kyle Macadangdang, Baldwin; 5. Isaiah Auweloa, Kamehameha Maui.
No. 6–1. Hayden White, Seabury Hall; 2. Dylan Falk, Maui Prep; 3. Oscar Hudson, King Kekaulike; 4. Bryson Smith, Baldwin.
Team–1. Baldwin 55, 2. King Kekaulike 40, 3. Haleakala Waldorf 29, 4. Maui High 20, 5. Seabury Hall 19, 6. Kamehameha 16, 7. Maui Prep 11, 8. Lahainaluna 5.
No. 1–1. Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, King Kekaulike; 2. Tamryn Taoka, Maui High; 3. Graye Smith, Baldwin; 4. Makena Heustis, Haleakala Waldorf; 5. Zoe Gonzales, Maui Prep.
No. 2–1. Ellie Brown, King Kekaulike; 2. Kirra Spalding, Kamehameha Maui; 3. Sachi Yamaguchi, Seabury Hall; 4. Maile Kaaihue, Baldwin; 5. Talei Laury-Schaefer, Haleakala Waldorf.
No. 3–1. Lily Ahrnsbrak, Maui High; 2. Bella Kuailani, King Kekaulike; 3. Josephine Shattuck, Haleakala Waldorf; 4. Jenna Boggs, Baldwin.
No. 4–1. Anna Fosbinder, Baldwin; 2. Magnolia Padgett, King Kekaulike; 3. Isabella Salamone, Haleakala Waldorf; t4. Cali Davenport, Kamehameha Maui; t4. Sydney Brown, Seabury Hall.
No. 5–1. Liana Kaaihue, Baldwin.
No. 6–1. Ava Ono, Baldwin.
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
Today • MIL golf 3:30 p.m.—Seabury Hall girls vs. King Kekaulike at Pukalani Country Club. 3:30 …
Tuesday • MIL golf 3:30 p.m.—Seabury Hall girls vs. King Kekaulike at Pukalani Country Club. 3:30 …
The Maui News Spyros Chakas had 13 kills and Dimitrios Mouchlias added 12 kills as the fourth-ranked University …
The Maui News The Lahainaluna High School softball team got back to .500 with a 14-4, six-inning win over …
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
Copyright © Maui News | https://www.mauinews.com | 100 Mahalani Street, Wailuku, HI 96793 | 808-242-6363 | Ogden Newspapers | The Nutting Company