Winners Declared at the Final East Coast Stop of the Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series

Ponce Inlet, Fla. (March 10, 2018) – After two days of competition among the East Coast’s best surfing talent, USA Surfing announced the winners of its Toyota Prime Series event held this weekend at Florida’s Ponce Inlet and those earning Prime East Season Champion Titles. See results below. Despite the smaller conditions, several surfers produced big scores on two-to-three-foot wedgy peaks.

Highlights included a perfect 10 by Cocoa Beach’s William Hedleston, backed up by a 9.6 for the event’s highest heat total of 19.6. Zoe Benedetto scored a 9.93 and 9.3 in the first round and a 9 in day two’s semi-final. USA Surfing’s junior national team coach Brett Simpson said the impressive scores “were the result of big combination maneuvers with great flow and flair, which is toughest to pull off in small surf.” 

The final stop of the Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series presented by Got Milk? took on extra excitement, as the cumulative points from the series determine which athletes qualify for junior national championships at Lower Trestles in California in June.  
Qualification for USA Surfing Championships is based on athletes’ top two event points. The top 50 percent of competitors’ total points in each division will receive an invitation this week with a deadline to accept by the end of the month. 

“The opportunity to surf in Championships at Lowers in four-person heats is something every athlete looks forward to,” USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse said. “Not only is the wave one of the best in the nation, the results determine which surfers make USA Surfing’s junior national teams.” 
Results of the Ponce Inlet Prime Series event are as follows:  
Girls U16
1st  Ava McGowan, New Smyrna, Fla.
2nd Zoe Benedetto, Palm City, Fla.
3rd  Sarah Abbott, Palm Beach, Fla. 
4th  Taylor Green, Milton, Fla. 

Girls U18
1st  Zoe Benedetto, Palm City, Fla.
2nd Ava McGowan, New Smyrna, Fla.
3rd  Morgan Iglay, Manasquan, N.J. 
4th  Coral Schuster, Cocoa Beach, Fla  
Boys U18
1st  Tommy Coleman, Vero Beach, Fla. 
​2nd Blake Speir, Melbourne Beach, Fla.
3rd  William Hedleston, Cocoa Beach, Fla.
4th  Owen Moss, Wrightsville Beach, N.C. 
 
Boys U16
1st  William Hedleston, Cocoa Beach, Fla. 
2nd Ryan Huckabee, Flagler Beach, Fla.
3rd  Blayr Barton, Virginia Beach, Va.
4th  Braeden Kopec, Flagler Beach, Fla.
 
Boys U14
1st   Logan Radd, Satellite Beach, Fla. 
2nd  Kendrick Remahl, Carolina Beach, N.C.
3rd  Seamus Carey, Linwood, N.J. 
4th  Ethan Harbinson, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
 
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. 
 
Several current WSL pro surfers honed their competitive skills through USA Surfing’s Prime Series, which celebrates its 10thanniversary this year.Florida native Caroline Marks, currently ranked No. 6 in the WSL, qualified for the Championship Tour while still competing in the Prime Series. Other greats include No. 2 Lakey Peterson, 2018 US Open champions Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi, Conner Coffin, Kolohe Andino, and Griffin Colapinto.
 
Most of these Championship Tour surfers were also members of USA Surfing’s elite junior national team in their younger years. The 2018-19 junior national and developmental teams will hold practice session in Cocoa Beach this week. Two-time U.S.  Open winner and junior team head coach Brett Simpson said he is looking forward to working with the nation’s best talent.The team trainings are timed to coincide with the March 14-17 Ron Jon Quiksilver Pro, Junior and Roxy Junior Pro, which draws the best surfers from across the nation. 
 
The developmental team will hold their practice on March 11; the junior national team will practice March 12.  See team lists below. 
 
Developmental team  
Boys
Seamus Carey, Linwood, N.J.
Cannon Carr, San Clemente, Calif.
William Hedleston, Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Kai Kushner, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Dane Matson, San Clemente, Calif.
Cole McCaffray, Encinitas, Calif.
Sterling Makish, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Lucas Owston, Oceanside, Calif.
Hayden Rodgers, Laguna Beach, Calif.
Hudson Saunders, Laguna Beach, Calif.
Luke Wyler, San Clemente, Calif.
Jak Zietz, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Girls
Sarah Abbott, Palm Beach, Fla.
Cascia Collings, Dana Point, Calif.
Taylor Green, Milton, Fla.
Julia Guild, San Clemente, Calif.
Bella Kenworthy, Dana Point, Calif.
Isabelle Kryger, Santa Fe, Tex.
Lillie Kulber, Los Angeles, Calif.
Marlee Lovell, Oceanside, Calif.
Keana Miller, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Syd Ott, Encinitas, Calif.
Bree Smith, San Clemente, Calif. 

Junior national team
Boys Under 18
Crosby Colapinto, San Clemente, Calif.
Tommy Coleman, Vero Beach, Fla.
Caleb Crozier, Encinitas, Calif.
Noah Hill, Venice, Calif.
Cole Houshmand, San Clemente, Calif.
Nick Marshall, Encinitas, Calif.
Kade Matson, San Clemente, Calif.
Laird Myers, Virginia Beach, Va.
Taro Watanabe, Malibu, Calif.
William Tex Mitchell, Oceanside, Calif.
 
Girls Under 18
Kayla Coscino, Laguna Beach, Calif.
Maddie Garlough, Port Aransas, Tex.
Olivia Pessanha, San Diego, Calif.
Kirra Pinkerton, San Clemente, Calif.
Coral Schuster, Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Samantha Sibley, San Clemente, Calif.
Tiare Thompson, La Jolla, Calif.
 
Boys Under 16
Blayr Barton, Sandbridge Beach, Va. 
Nico Coli, San Clemente, Calif.
Robbie Goodwin, Jacksonville, Fla.
Ryan Huckabee, Flagler Beach, Fla.
Taj Lindblad, San Clemente, Calif.
Owen Moss, Wilmington, N.C.
Jett Schilling, San Clemente, Calif. 
Levi Slawson, Encinitas, Calif.
 
Girls Under 16
Zoe Benedetto, Palm City, Fla.
Makena Burke, Ventura, Calif.
Ryann Daly, Dana Point, Calif.
Sawyer Lindblad, San Clemente, Calif.
Ella McCaffray, Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.
Ava McGowan, New Smyrna, Fla.
Caitlin Simmers, Oceanside, Calif.
Alyssa Spencer, Carlsbad, Calif.
 
The Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series continues in venues across the country including: 
·     March 30 – 31, 2019 - USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Church San Onofre State Beach, CA
·     May 4 – 5, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – West Coast location TBD
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.