Date of Birth: November 12, 1998

Best Known For: Being a straight-A student

Local Spot: Seaside Reef

My Crew: Derrick Disney, Matt and JD Lewis, Nick Marshall, David and Nick Suldonick, Ryan Harrah, Sean Celona, Taylor Clark

Board of Choice: 4'10" Xanadu

Dream Wave: Perfect, 6 feet and barreling

My Top Five:

1.) "Rite of Spring" by AvA 2.) Veggie burritos
3.) Stranger Than Fiction 4.) Lowers 5.) Kelly Slater

Conner gets second, EG and Kaulana get fourth in the Open divisions at HB. Photos: Michael Lallande and Derek Bahn

Jake Marshall also takes the Under 12 Division at Lowers. Video: Asher Nolan. Photos: Derek Bahn

It was a banner day for Team Hurley at Lowers on Monday, as Evan Geiselman and 11-year-old Jake Marshall won their respective divisions in the country's most important amateur surf contest. Continuing on his stellar run of contest victories, Geiselman found his biggest challenge yet in the form of Kolohe Andino. The two went blow for blow, air reverse for air reverse, as Evan went left and Kolohe went right. But in the end, it was Evan's huge blowtail to reverse on a bigger set that gave him the nod. Evan Geiselman is the first official Surfing America USA Champ out of Lowers and will undoubtedly carry the momentum on the US Team.

In the Under 12 division, Seaside local Jake Marshall capitalized on some solid double overhead rights (on him) and squeaked out a win over fellow Hurley rider Kaulana Apo. Both surfers are destined to be future leaders -- keep an eye on them.

Congrats to Evan, Jake and Kaulana. Check the video highlights here.

Hurley riders advance through Round 1 at Trestles and are now one step closer to making the cut for Team USA. Video: Asher Nolan. Photos: Derek Bahn

The Surfing America USA Championships saw some fun, contestable surf at Lowers today. A light onshore breeze was on tap throughout the day before conditions glassed off in the afternoon. Hurley’s Evan Geiselman recorded the highest heat score of the day, with a two-wave total of 18.5. Geiselman started off his heat with a bang, sticking to Trestles’ steeper lefts and blowing his tail out and above the lip at every opportunity. Evan was able to seal the deal with a stylish air on the inside, scoring his second 9 point wave of the heat.

He explained, “It’s a little slow out there, but luckily there were some waves in my heat. The lefts were really fun.” After competing for the USA at last year’s ISA World Juniors in New Zealand, Evan hopes to power through his next few rounds to earn one of the coveted spots for team USA this year.

Other USA National Team hopefuls and Hurley team riders advanced to round 2 as well. Connor Coffin snuck through his slow first round heat with his signature power carves. Coffin ended up second place, only finding two waves that had anything to offer, while 12-year-old Jake Marshall blew up in both of his heats beating kids twice his size in the Under 14s and Under 16s. Marshall looks to keep his streak alive when he surfs in his third (and most fitting) age group, as the Under 12 division kicks off tomorrow.

Be sure to tune in or make your way down to Trestles for tomorrow’s action. The Boys Under 18s start the morning off at 8am. And in case you haven’t heard, the last two days of the USA Championships (Sunday - Monday) are shaping up to have some healthy swell fill in for the final rounds of competition. Watch team Hurley battle it out with the top American and Hawaiian juniors in classic Lowers conditions.—Phil Bannan

Watch the event live tomorrow at www.surfingamerica.org.

Hanging with So Cal's best 10-year-old in Encinitas. Video: PK

Remembering one of our own in HB

Last Saturday we had the Second Annual Dane Williams Memorial Surf Festival at Goldenwest Street in Huntington Beach. GW was Dane’s local spot, so we thought it would be most fitting to round up all of our friends and family and have a fun day at the beach to celebrate our wonderful friend Dane’s life. Dane was always one for having EVERYONE around…the guy took his family, grandmother included, to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday.

Many of Dane’s family and friends were on hand to join in the festivities to win cool prizes donated by our friends in the surf industry. Nalu’s Island Grill was on hand at lunchtime to feed everyone around the event. The contest went on hold due to a massive fog bank that rolled in and made it tough for judges to distinguish jersey colors. That didn’t stop everyone from getting into all the beach games. We eventually had to call it off and choose winners based on the scores in Round 1, which was a bit of a bummer because the waves were actually really fun...when you could see them. — Brandon Guilmette

Special thanks goes out to:
Nalu’s Island Grill, Hurley, Analog, Volcom, Nike 6.0, The Shorebreak Hotel, Firewire Surfboards, Gravis, Jack’s Surfboards, Lee Stacey, Brett Simpson, Brad Ettinger, Sugar Shack Café, Arnette, Electric eyewear, HSS, Java Point, Surfing Magazine, Fox, Rip Curl, Ezekiel, Surfline, Nixon, Skull Candy, Warner Bros., and many many more who helped make this event possible.

WINNERS:
Juniors - Alex Barone
Mens - Matt Payne
Boogieboard - Dan Knight
Super Grom - Griffin Foy
Groms - Jake Marshall
Girls - Sara Taylor

ABOUT DANE: Dane Williams, a Huntington Beach resident, was reported missing in San Diego on January 25, 2008, where he was attending the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) Convention on behalf of Hurley. A few days later his body was discovered in an alley miles from where he was last seen. For almost two years his case was a mystery. With relentless efforts by San Diego’s homicide detectives an arrest was made on September 15, 2009. Dane’s family now waits for the impending trial to begin and justice to be served.

Things are looking up for the final day

After a long week of pumping surf in HB, we are finally down to the business end of the Surfing America US Championships. Conner Coffin has just come off a couple wins last weekend (NSSA Gold Coast and WSA Prime) and is looking nearly unstoppable. The waves have really suited Conner’s big powerful style. Conner has been posting some of the highest scores of the event so far, but he has his work cut out in the Boys Under 16 final against Kolohe Andino, Luke Davis, and his brother Parker Coffin. Conner also has another stacked heat in the semi of the Under 18 division.

Jake Marshall has been another crowd favorite at the event this week. Jake has been surfing in the Under 12 and Under 14 divisions and has a tough semi-final to get through tomorrow in the Under 12 division. Local boy Kanoa Igarashi, Jake Davis and Newport’s, Tyler Gunther are all going to be battling Jake for the waves in the semi-final, in hopes to be crowned the US Champion in the Boys Under 12 division.

Another standout has been Nor Cal boy, Kadin Panesi. Kadin has been quietly going about his business in the Under 14 division and is hoping to get into that final tomorrow.

The swell looks like it should still be fun, so watch the action on www.surfingamerica.org— Brandon

All the highlights from the hottest peak on the planet. Video: PK and Lucas Wimer. Photos: Michael Lallande

Well, we have a lot to be proud of. Evan Geiselman's 10,0 and 9.75 in his Round 3 heat. Jake Marshall making the Open Boys final as a 10-year-old. Jake Halstead: power beyond his years and landing a third-place finish in the Explorer Boys division. And Conner Coffin, one of the event favorites, blazing all week and powering his way to a second place in Open Juniors and fourth place in Open Mens. This year's NSSA Nationals was yet another stellar installment from Lowers, with Kolohe "Brother" Andino and Lakey Peterson taking the Governor's Cups. Congratulations to all the winners — it was another week to remember.

RESULTS

Open Mens
1. Kolohe Andino
2. Evan Thompson
3. Alex Smith
4. Conner Coffin

Open Womens
1. Lakey Peterson
2. Courtney Conlogue
3. Malia Manuel
4. Nage Melamed

Open Juniors
1. Ezekial Lau
2. Conner Coffin
3. Matty Costa
4. Kaimana Jaquias

Open Boys
1. Ian Gentil
2. Josh Moniz
3. Benji Brand
4. Jacob Davis
5. Jake Marshall
6. Imai Devault

Open Mini Groms
1. Kei Kobayashi
2. Kaulana Apo
3. Griffin Colapinto
4. Luke Marks
5. Dylan Lehmann
6. Noa Mizuno

Open Longboard
1. Scott Brandenburg
2. Shaun Thompson
3. Matt Blias-Calles
4. Patrick Nichols
5. Steve Mclean
6. Westin Williams

NSSA Air Show
1. Kolohe Andino
2. Alex Smith
3. Ezekial Lau
4. Balaram Stack
5. Dylan Goodale
6. Koa Smith

Explorer Mens
1. Kiron Jabour
2. Alex Smith
3. Dylan Goodale
4. Tanner Hendrickson
5. Fisher Heverly
6. Makana Eleogram

Explorer Womens
1. Malia Manuel
2. Catherine Clark
3. Nage Melamed
4. Keilia Moniz
5. Leila Hurst
6. Alyssa Wooten

Explorer Juniors
1. Kiron Jabour
2. Tanner Hendrickson
3. Fisher Heverly
4. Evan Thompson
5. Dylan Goodale
6. Kolohe Andino

Explorer Boys
1. Kolohe Andino
2. Ian Gentil
3. Jake Halstead
4. Koa Smith
5. Benji Brand
6. Taylor Clark

Explorer Girls
1. Alessa Quizon
2. Lakey Peterson
3. Tatiana Weston-Webb
4. Harley Talch
5. Kallee Krebs
6. Shelby Detmers

Explorer Menehuene
1. Ian Gentil
2. Kalani David
3. Benji Brand
4. Kanoa Igarashi
5. Patrick Curren
6. Braiden Maithe

Ian Cairns trains up the Hurley Team for the NSSA Nationals at Lowers. Photos: Michael Lallande

His name is Kanga, and there's no one more qualified to get surfers to the next level. Former Bronzed Aussie Ian Cairns has been spinning gold medals for more than 25 years now, and before this year's NSSA Nationals, we had him spend an afternoon with the Hurley team and give them his honest assessment. Here are his comments. In short, the future is looking bright for Hurley's up-and-comers.

Coffin, Saenz, Halstead and Marshall all post solid results

Young surfers from all over California invaded Huntington Beach this weekend for the NSSA Western Championships. With a fun, 2- to 3-foot swell on hand, competitors were given a great platform to showcase the skills they've built up all year.

It was the Hurley team who stole the show, though. Conference titles, regional titles, most improved surfer awards, Open, Explorer...you name it, these boys won it.

The heavily contested Open Men's division was a close one. Local boy and Open Men's Conference Champion Christian Saenz tied with Luke Davis but ended up coming runner-up in the countback. Conner Coffin was looking like the man to beat all weekend. Conner came third in the Open Men’s final, took home the Open Juniors conference title, and won the Open Juniors Regional Title.

10-year-old Jake Marshall made three finals: Explorer Menehune, Open Boys and Open Mini-Groms. He won the Open Mini-Grom Regional title and won 9 of 10 events in the Southwest Open season to win the Conference.

Young La Jolla ripper, Jacob Halstead, may have had a shaky start at this year's West Coast Championships, but he couldn't have asked for much better of an ending. Jacob lost a real close heat in the Open Juniors division on Saturday, but you could see that he only had one thing on his mind the final day of competition when he won the Explorer Boys Regional title. Jake pulled out a clutch performance in the final and took the win. The Explorer Boys conference champion was also named the NSSA Southwest Conference "Most Improved Surfer."

Congrats to all the Champions and competitors this weekend. Looking forward to some great heats at Nationals in June. - Brandon Guilmette