Sun Diego x O'Neill Am Slam Surf Event #3
Overcast skies and fun 3-4 ft. surf greeted to field of 48 pros from around the world Saturday. The action didn’t take long to get hot. Jordy Collins, brand new team member of Team USA started with a first round total of 19 which included a lofty full rotation air reverse. He looked like a group that was inspired. The top six competitors were amiss for the 3rd stop of the AM SLAM Series. Wesley Santos (BRZ) was dominating heats as well. Chris Ward even made an appearance to hold home court and remind the kids who’s boss of San Clemente. Local prodigy Gunner Day was looking solid as well coming out of the first round. All roads led to these talented surfers coming together for the final. The silent but deadly killer from Venezuela, Derek Gomes was slowly building momentum all day with smooth and radical top turns. He didn’t show a ton of flair but damn his turns were crisp tight and powerful. In the final Jordy and Derek got out to fast starts both post 7.25 on their respective waves. The two were battling all heat to hold priority next to the pier for a good scoring back up. In the end Jordy was able to hold off the Venezuelan for his maiden victory, $2200 cash and a jump to the top spot of the rankings heading in to the final event in Mission Beach September 24-25. Wesley Santos surfed well and finished in third while San Clemente Grom Gunner Day rounded out the final in 4th.
Pro final 1. Jordy Collins 2. Derrek Gomes 3. Wesley Santos 4. Gunner Day Overall Point Standings
Sunday morning was all time at San Clemente Pier! Barreling 2-4 ft. peaks were blessing the contest area for the frothing Groms! Many Many great performances went down in the early rounds including that of Hagan Johnson. His radical style and mature lines garnered him some big numbers in the early rounds of the Boys division. The young man from San Clemente ended up with a solid 3rd place finish for his efforts. Nico Coli, standing almost head and shoulders above his competitors used his size, and his amazing skill to lay down big turns and secure the victory. Parker Cohn was the early favorite in the Juniors Division, with his smooth and radical backside attack. He ended up making two finals on Sunday (Mens and Juniors) and taking home 2 5th place finishes Not a bad day for the local shredder!!!! David Economos, however, stole the show in final. Lightning quick and full of flare the Pier local used his wave knowledge to secure a dominating victory.
The Mens division was wide open with many guys flaring up all day. In the end Derek Gomes (VZL) took home the win a day after collecting $1000 in the Pro division. That is a good weekend for the young South American who is spending the summer in San Clemente. A great story coming from the event was the return to form of San Clemente kingpin Matt King. He finished a close second in the final and barely missed the pro final. He was surfing fast and he looked hungry. It was awesome to see all the local support he had on the beach as well!
Marissa Shaw, yet another San Clemente native , was in fine form and showed last month’s winner Samantha Sibley how to use the pier bowl two secure the two highest scoring rides of the final and the victory.
In all San Clemente ruled all the amateur divisions and made it a clean sweep for people either living or vacationing in the South Orange county town. Once again proving that understanding how a certain wave breaks can make a considerable difference when conditions get challenging. San Clemente was a great host with a killer local scene and plenty of people hanging on the pier and cheering the surfers on. We can’t wait to get back there again!
Don’t forget to join us next month Sept. 24th and 25th in Mission Beach for the final event of the season! There will be a music stage, skate park and surf competition all going down! It is going to be epic!!!
Sign up today at Sundiego.com We’ll see you at Belmont Park!!!