As the Western Surfing Association winds down to its final events of the 2022-23 season, surfers of all ages are trying to get in position to make the West Coast Championships.
This weekend will be final scheduled event held at Salt Creek. It will be event number 9 of which surfers that hope to qualify for the championships must surf at least 6 events and have strong enough results to move on.
One surfer hitting his stride at the right time is San Diego's Jonny Herrouin.
Heading into last week's make up event at Huntington Beach, Herrouin had a 3rd and 5th in his last three contests. Well, you can how add a first-place finish to that as he broke through for his first win of the season at HB.
Herrouin took the U16 title with a strong showing and moved into fourth place in the rankings with the win.
"I went free surfing and kind of drifted into the zone and got some good waves, " Herrouin said. "So, for my heat I paddled in that same area, and it worked out for me."
The win was a culmination of hard work the youth has been putting in as of late.
"I've been training in the gym and learning how to get quicker movements," he added.
The dynamic Lavik brothers, Laird and Noah, put up a strong fight all day and finished second and third respectively.
U16 Finalists: Johnny Herrouin, Laird Lavik, Noah Lavik, Sutton Tudor, Westley Young, Finn Murphy
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
Sutton Tudor
Laird Lavik
Shane McNulty
Jonny Herrouin
Westley Young
Other Week 8 results:
Boys U18
Finalists: Tommy Granger, Owen Casey, Graham Allen, Finn Murphy, Laird Lavik, Hendrick Osterkamp.
Tommy Granger bettered his previous season best third place result, with his first title of the season. His slashing style put up good numbers in each heat he surfed. Owen Casey was trying to be a double winner after taking the men's open division but finished second.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
GRAHAM ALLEN
RYDER SMITH
CHASE MERRILL
OWEN CASEY
LAIRD LAVIK
Boys U14
Finalists: Makai Castle, Jett Maughan, Wyatt Yount, King Nicol, Tyler Knatz, Kai Thompson.
Number two-seed in the division, Makai Castle took his second win of the year and jumped to the season lead with the win. He won the season opening week and then had a second-place result just last month. Jett Maughan, had his third top three finish, with a solid runner up placing and Wyatt Yount, who made two finals on the day was third.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
MAKAI CASTLE
NOAH LAVIK
JETT MAUGHAN
KING NICOL
JAIME VESELKO
Boys U12
Finalists: Zion Walla, Wyatt Yount, Finn Castle, Moses Hennings, Giacomo Mesinas, King Nicol
Zion Walla won title number two on the season. He also has three second place finishes in a very strong season. Wyatt Yount was second best on the day and Finn Castle had his seventh top three finish, with a third-place result.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
FINN CASTLE
ZION WALLA
KING NICOL
WYATT YOUNT
OWEN ROWE
Boys U10
Finalists: Troy Ponteres, Waylon Brennan, Brett Gregorius, Zackery Taylor, Brock McDonald, Barrett Bishop.
Troy Ponteres turned in his best performance of the season with his first title win. He previously finished third earlier in the season but put it all together in his title run. Waylon Brennan remained the leader of the division with his 8th straight top two finish.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
WAYLON BRENNAN
BROCK MCDONALD
BRETT GREGORIOUS
TROY PONTERES
JACK KEET
Micro Grom Boys U9
Finalists: Zackery Taylor, Maverick Suess, Ray Hennings, Sidon Hodgman, Cash Jonez-Schillmoeller, Brett Gregorius
Top seed Zackery Taylor won his 5th title in 8 events with a solid day of surfing. Marverick Suess had his best finish of the season in the division with his second place result and Ray Hennings finished third for his 3rd top three result of the season.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
ZACKERY TAYLOR
CASH JONEZ-SCHILLMOELLER
RAY HENNINGS
JADEN PLATT
SIDON HODGMAN
Mini Groms U7
Finalists: Maverick Suess, Harper Daniels, Tobias Balderson, Indy Gregorius, Greyson Burrell, Miles Dornan
Maverick Suess got his 6th win of the season and 3rd straight win. Harper Daniels had her second 2nd place finish of the year and Tobias Balderson had his fourth top three result.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
ZACKERY TAYLOR
TOBIAS BALDERSON
GREYSON BURRELL
HARPER DANIELS
URIAH MCDONALD
Girls U18
Finalists: Eden Walla, Ezra McPhillips, Veronica Hughes, Ava Wagester, Tava Post, Maddy Moschopoulos.
Eden Walla won for the 4th time in five events, with a dominating performance. Walla missed the first three weeks and has 4 wins and one 2nd place performance since.
Ezra McPhillips had a solid runner up placing and Veronica Hughes was third for the third time this season.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
AUDREY DENOS
EDEN WALLA
ISABELLE KRYGER
AVA WAGESTER
EZRA MCPHILLIPS
Girls U16
Finalists: Ezra McPhillips, Bailey Turner, Shea Sherman, London Meza, Hayden Suess, Sunny Walder.
Ezra McPhillips backed up her solid showing in the U18 group with a win in the U16. It was her first win of the season to go along with four, 2nd place results. Bailey Turner was second for the second time in the last three events and Shea Sherman got her third 3rd place finish.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
BAILEY TURNER
EZRA MCPHILLIPS
VICTORIA DUPRAT
HAYDEN SUESS
SHEA SHERMAN
Girls U14
Finalists: Bailey Turner, Teagan Meza, Happy Sager, London Meza, Zoe Panettiere, Hayden Suess.
Bailey Turner got win number 3 on the season in the U14. It was a good day for Turner with her performance in both U14 and U16 divisions. Teagan Meza came off a win the event before and had a solid second place result and Happy Sager turned in her third top three performance of the season.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
BAILEY TURNER
TEAGAN MEZA
HAPPY SAGER
VICTORIA DUPRAT
HAYDEN SUESS
Girls U12
Finalists: Ruby Stringfellow, Teagan Meza, Zoe Panetierre, Samaira Lizzi, Riviera Hunter
Stop me of you've heard this before. Ruby Stringfellow takes first place. Yes, it is Ruby's 6th win in her eight events surfed. She was second the other two times. Teagan Meza had her 7th top three result with a solid second and Zoe Panetierre was third, her 7th top three performance as well.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
RUBY STRINGFELLOW
ZOE PANETIERRE
TEAGAN MEZA
REESE SHIGEI-SEAT
SAMAIRA LIZZI
Micro Grom Girls U10
Finalists: Harper Olenik, Alana Harp, Teagan Sandvig, Mischa Pacheco, Presley-Jonez Schillmoeller, Mia Blaxland.
Harper Olenik got her second win of the season with a top performance. She has 2 wins and 4 seconds on the season. Alana Harp had a solid runner up performance and Teagan Sandvig was third for her 7th straight top three result.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
TEAGAN SANDVIG
HARPER OLENIK
ALANA HARP
MISCHA PACHECO
ALEXANDRA SHAPIRO
Boys U14 Longboard
Finalists: Matthew Harkins, Dominick Lomax, Sawyer Southern, Slater Van Bruggen,
Matthew Harkins tried his first event of the season and came away with the championship. His debut performance was a solid one and we may see him again soon. Dominic Lomax was second for his fourth, top three finish of the year. Sawyer Southern was third and has been in the top three in all seven of his contests.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
SAWYER SOUTHERN
SLATER VAN BRUGGEN
DOMINICK LOMAX
KAI LANDERS
CHASE MATHESON
Boys U18 Longboard
Finalists: Noah Hogle, Lote Harvey, Joshua Smiljanich, Emiliano Mendez, Jake Reisender,
Noah Hogle won for the third straight week and fourth time overall in the season. Lote Harvey was 2nd breaking his mini two-week slump and Joshua Smiljanich had his best finish in the division with a third-place performance. Josh also has a win and second in the men's open division.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
NOAH HOGLE
LOTE HARVEY
JAKE REISENDER
SLATER TODD
EMILIANO MENDEZ
Girls U18 Longboard
Finalists: Madelyn Skaar, Hailey Stephens, Izzy Derenzis, Kilinoe Farrow, Kenzie O’Brien,
Allegra Barzan.
Madelyn Skaar won for the second time in the last three events with a top performance. Hailey Stephens had her best finish in the U18 as the runner up and Izzy Derenzis had her third, top 3 result.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
SOFIA TODD
MADELYN SKAAR
STELLA LANDERS
IZZY DERENZIS
KILINOE FARROW
Girls U14 Longboard
Finalists: Elizabeth Carroll, Lena Santoro, Ella Anderson, Hailey Stephens, Blayke Southern.
Elizabeth Carroll won her seventh title in 8 events with a solid longboard performance. Lena Santoro had her best finish of the season with a second-place result and Ella Anderson had her fourth top three finish.
CURRENT SEASON RANKINGS:
ELIZABETH CARROLL
ELLA ANDERSON
HAILEY STEPHENS
BLAYKE SOUTHERN
AUDREY NEILL