At the age of 10, King Nicol has shown flashes of an incredible future, surfing this season as a regular competitor in the U12 and U14 divisions of the Western Surfing Association events.
This week, everything came together for the San Clemente grom as he took first place in both divisions, his second win of the year in the U12 and first title in the U14.
If the name sounds familiar to surfing historians, it's because he is the son of Yadin Nicol, who spent three seasons on the WSL Champions Tour and twice finished fifth at the Billabong Pipe Masters.
On this weekend, the younger Yadin truly was the king.
"The waves for the finals were better than the start of the day, " King said. "There were some good waves right by the jetty and they were very fun and rippable. The conditions changed a lot during the day. In the morning they were honesty like 3 inches, and they got to about 4 feet in the afternoon. It was very fun and I'm happy and surprised to win both divisions."
Nicol found himself in two stacked finals with some of the top ranked surfers in each division. Despite that, he took first on all three judges' cards in both finals heats
Boys U14 Finalists: King Nicol, Owen Rowe, Jett Maughan, Jaime Veselko, Makai Castle, Oliver Rowe
Boys U12 Finalists: King Nicol, Zion Walla, Finn Castle, Moses Hennings, Maddox Keet, Waylon Martin
Boys U18
Finalists: Curren Bain, Hendrick Osterkamp, Connor Kryger, Chase Merrell, David Gibson, Charlie Stevens
Curren Bain took his first WSA title of the season.
In his four events surfed, Curren's previous best finish was 3rd, also coming at Oceanside.
But this week, Bain took first on all three judges' cards in the final.
"I really wanted to find as least two good waves at the start of each heat and then maintain a good pace through the heat." Bain said. " The final was super slow, so you had to pick the right waves and i got lucky and picked a good one at the beginning."
Hendrick Osterkamp and Connor Kryger had season best finishes with their second and third place spots respectively.
Girls U18
Finalists: Ava Wagester, Eden Walla, Tava Post, Isabelle Kryger, Audrey Denos, Veronica Hughes
After 2 third place finishes this season, Ava Wagester broke through and took her first title of the season. It was a tight battle with runner-up Eden Walla that saw Ava take the win on two of the three judges' cards.
Walla was attempting to win her fourth straight championship.
Tava Post had her best finish of the season, finishing third.
"It was a little windier in the final, but I think I liked those waves more because there was a little more of a wall on them," Wagester said. "I tried to keep up my wave count and wait for the best waves and I made sure I was in the right spot to get them."
Boys U16
Finalists: Sutton Tudor, Jacob Brown, Sean MacDonald, Shane McNulty, Jonny Herrouin, Finn Murphy
Sutton Tudor came into this week's event ranked fourth on the season based on his record of one 2nd place and three 3rd place finishes. He can now add a championship to that as he swept all three judges' cards en route to his initial win of the season.
Jacob Brown from Dana Point equaled his best finish of the season with a runner up performance. He also finished second in week four at Morro Bay. Sean MacDonald, who took last month's title rounded out the top three.
" The waves were super consistent. I got one early in the final with a couples turns and a finish and that settled the nerves" Tudor said. " I rode my epoxy, its better on small waves. I rode a different board yesterday in free surf and I was like I should try this one, and it worked really good."
Girls U16
Finalists: Bailey Turner, Victoria Duprat, Hayden Suess, Shea Sherman, Elizabeth Carroll, London Meza
Fifth ranked Bailey Turner won for the third time this season, taking the win from all three judges.
Turner has been a gem of consistency in the WSA. She has now placed in the top three in all 5 events she has competed in.
Victoria Duprat, last month's winner, was second and Hayden Suess finished third, her best of the year.
Girls U12
Finalists: Ruby Stringfellow, Zoe Panitierre, Teagan Meza, Samaira Lizzi, Riviera Hunter, Blossom Depesa
Ruby Stringfellow kept rolling right along in the U12 division.
She led the field from start to finish in winning her 5th championship in 7 events this season. She has won both events held in Oceanside this season.
Zoe Panitierre had another solid outing with her third runner up performance and Teagan Meza, number three on the season in the rankings, had her fourth straight third place result.
Girls U10
Finalists: Teagan Sandvig, Harper Olenik, Sailah Nicol, Alana Harp, Presley Schillmoeller, Snow Parisi
Teagan Sandvig has become a win machine in the U10 division, taking the title for the 5th time in the six events she has surfed in.
Her only loss was week two in Ventura when she finished third. With the win, Sandvig will take over the top spot in the season rankings.
Harper Olenik, who has been the top seed, finished second for the 4th time in her last 5 events.
Boys U10
Finalists: Waylon Brennan, Brett Gregorious, Brock McDonald, Troy Poneres, Jack Keet, Barrett Bishop
Waylon Brennan holds the top spot in the rankings based on his three wins this year and this weekend he did it again.
Brennan swept all three judges cards and won for back-to-back titles. Brett Gregorious, who has two wins on the year, had a solid second place finish and Brock McDonald finished third.
Micro Grom Boys U9
Finalists: Cash Jonez-Schillmoeller, Ray Hennings, Sidon Hodgman, Zakery Taylor, Rex Hoffman, Jaden Platt
Cash Jonez-Schillmoeller won for the second time this season. In his 7 events he now has 2 wins and 5 second place finishes. Ray Hennings was second. Ray had a win back in week 5. Sidon Hodgman had his best finish of the season with a third-place result.
Mini Groms U7
Finalists: Maverick Suess, Uriah McDonald, Shane Lavik, Mica Panichella, Tobias Balderson, Miles Dornan
Maverick Suess continued to be the one to beat in the division and won for the 5th time in his seven events this year. Uriah McDonald finished 2nd, for the second time this season. Shane Lavik, surfing his just his second event, had his first top three performance with his 3rd place result.
Boys Longboard U18
Finalists: Noah Hogle, Josh Stepnowsky, Shayne Davis, Jake Reisender, Brody Dapena, Bodhi Sahakian
Noah Hogle made it back-to-back titles and three wins of his five events with a solid performance in the longboard division. After winning his semifinal heat, he went wire to wire in the finals, taking the win on all three judges' cards.
Josh Stepnowsky, making his season debut in the division, took second place and Shayne Davis got the third-place result.
Girls Longboard U18
Finalists: Sofia Todd, Stella Landers, Madelyn Skaar, Kilinoe Farrow, Izzy Derenzis, Lena Santoro
Sofia Todd has only been to 5 events this season, but with the win this week, she has won four times. She sailed through the semis with a win and then was the unanimous winner in the finals. Stella Landers finished second for the third straight week.
Boys Longboard U14
Finalists: Sawyer Southern, Slater Van Bruggen, Kai Landers, Joey Ramirez, Dominick Lomax
Sawyer Southern continued to be on a roll with his fourth win of the season in just his sixth event surfed. His other two were second place finishes. Slater Van Bruggen was second and has now finished in the top three in four of his 6 events. Kai Landers finished third for the 3rd time in 5 tries.
Girls Longboard U14
Finalists: Elizabeth Carroll, Hailey Stephens, Lena Santoro, Ella Anderson, Blayke Southern, Audrey Neill
Elizabeth Carroll got win number 6 on the season as she continues to be the longboard queen. Haley Stephens was second, her fourth top two performance in her four events surfed. Lena Santoro began her season last event and for both tries she now has two 3rd place results.
Event number 8 will be at Huntington Beach on April 1st and 2nd. This was rescheduled from an event that was postponed in January.