West Coast's Best U18 Surfers Take On Steamer Lane at Toyota USA Surfing Prime Event

Santa Cruz, Calif. (January 12, 2020) – The best junior surfers on the West Coast threw it down at Steamer Lane – a Santa Cruz reef break known for its gnarly conditions, chilly water and sublime view from the cliffs. “The Lane” was the third stop of the West Coast Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series season presented by Got Milk? 
 
The two-day event gave the groms lots of learning experiences at one of the most high-performance waves in the world. Surfers had to make due with some small inconsistent surf on Saturday that delayed the girls’ finals and boy’s under 14 finals until Sunday morning. Coach Brett Simpson called final’s day “a classic Steamer Lane day with 6- to -10 feet solid conditions all day.” 
 
Coach Simpson gave a shout out to all the competitors and highlighted some standouts. Caitlin Simmers of Oceanside took double wins in Girls Under 16 and Girls Under 18 divisions. The highest wave score of the event – a 9.6 – went to San Clemente’s Sawyer Lindblad, one of two 9-point rides. Huntington Beach's Keanu Igarashi earned the highest wave score of day two – an 8.83. The Ironman surfer of the day went to Lucas Owston, who surfed three heats in a row and posted solid scores all day. Jak Ziets stood out as the in-form surfer of the Under 14 division with solid backhand combos all event. 
 
See event results below and posts on Instagram and Facebook.
 
USA Surfing’s Prime Series was created to bridge the gap young surfers experience when making the jump to the bigger leagues of surfing, including a position on the USA Surfing national teams, the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series, the WSL Championship Tour and potentially the Olympic Games. The Prime format provides surfers with an experience similar to WSL pro events with professional WSL/ISA judges and announcers, four-person heats using priority, computer scoring live on the STACT App and instant replay for the judges.
 
The best under 18 surfers on the West Coast compete for Series titles and cumulative points that qualify them to surf at USA Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles. The invite-only Prime Series is a competition among surfers who placed highest in regional competitions held by USA Surfing’s affiliate organizations – the Western Surfing Association, and National Scholastic Surfing Association.
 
​RESULTS
 
Girls U18
1st    Caitlin Simmers, Oceanside, Calif.
2nd   Sawyer Lindblad, San Clemente, Calif.
3rd    Keanna Miller, Santa Cruz, Calif.
4th    Ella McCaffray, Cardiff, Calif. 
 
Boys U18
1st   Taro Watanabe, Malibu, Calif. 
2nd  Jo Jo Whelan, Newport, Calif. 
3rd   Lucas Owston, Oceanside, Calif. 
4th   Keanu Igarashi, Huntington Beach, Calif.
 
Girls U16
1st   Caitlin Simmers, Oceanside, Calif. 
2nd  Lilie Kulber, Los Angeles, Calif.
3rd   Sawyer Lindblad, San Clemente, Calif. 
4th   Keanna Miller, Santa Cruz, Calif. 
 
Boys U16
1st   Tanner Vodraska, Camarillo, Calif. 
2nd  Niko Ripley, San Clemente, Calif. 
3rd   Lucas Owston, Oceanside, Calif. 
4th   Kai Kushner, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
 
Boys U14
1st    Jak Ziets, Santa Barbara, Calif. 
2nd  James Daniel, Soquel, Calif. 
3rd   Paul Karcsay, Cardiff, Calif. 
4th   Rex Hennings, San Clemente, Calif.
 
Several World Surf League stand outs honed their skills in the Prime Series, including the first Americans to qualify for surfing’s first Olympics – Caroline Marks and Kolohe Andino. Others include U.S. Open winners Courtney Conlogue, Sage Erickson and Kanoa Igarashi, and Lakey Peterson, Conner Coffin, Griffin Colapinto and more. Looking back at the Prime Series results over the past ten-plus years is a who’s who in American surfing. 
 
USA Surfing’s Prime Series is pleased to welcome a new sponsor this year - DJO®, a leading provider of medical technologies designed to support surfer mobility and rehabilitation. Other proud supporters include: SunBum, Wienerschnitzel, GoGoSqueeZ BlastZ, New Era Cap, Carver Skateboards, Got Milk?, Hot Shoppe Designs, Outlets at San Clemente, HydroFlask, Tea of a Kind, Blue Diamond Almonds, Jacuzzi, Leus, Rise Brewing Company and DSC Performance.
 
Contact: becky (at) usasurfing (dot) org
 
USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for surfing in the United States, recognized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USA Surfing’s mission is to promote and grow the sport of surfing and support United States athletes of all backgrounds to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American competition. USA Surfing will oversee and support America’s Olympic team as surfing makes its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and surfing and stand-up paddleboarding athletes compete in the 2019 Pan American Games.